


run a mile for me and i'll run away with you

by Astral_Bees



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: :), All of them are alive, M/M, Modern AU, Oh, Probably ooc, also, and, but trackstar luke, dont rlly know what else to tag, i dont know how long it will be, ill probably add more tags the further in i get, lukereggie - Freeform, or if ill finish it, reggie wants a dog, short chapters like i usually do, this is based on an otp prompt, uhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:41:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 30,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27144676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astral_Bees/pseuds/Astral_Bees
Summary: based on the prompt: "i'm a socially anxious introvert and you're the popular captain of the track team, and i know i've never spoken a word to you in my life, but my dad said if i run a marathon in record time then i can get a puppy, so please train me."
Relationships: Luke Patterson/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 224
Kudos: 514





	1. white and marinara don't mix

**Author's Note:**

> this is for rae :)

It wasn’t Reggie’s fault that he’d agreed to run a marathon despite the fact that he knew it was a bad idea. He was desperate. And he was running out of options. To be precise, he was down to two. He could run the marathon or wave goodbye to ever having a dog while living under his parents’ roof.

Letting his shoes scuff against the sidewalk, he stared out at the park to his side. A couple distractedly threw a ball for a scrappy little terrier as he walked by and Reggie could feel his heart tug. He could do it. He could figure out how to run a marathon in record time. He kinda had to. Picking up his pace, Reggie realized he was going to be late for his first period. Which wouldn’t exactly help his case.

Reggie slid into his seat just as the second bell rang. Sighing softly, he felt a sharp tug on his shirt. He turned to look behind him and saw Alex staring at him with wide eyes.

“Dude! Where were you?” the worry in Alex’s voice brought a smile to Reggie’s lips.

He shrugged slightly, shifting in his seat so it at least kind of seemed like he was listening to the teacher. “I just got distracted.”

Alex’s voice dipped lower, just barely above a whisper, “I was a minute away from saying you were sick.”

Reggie appreciated the gesture. He knew Alex had him and that was enough. “Thanks, man.”

He didn’t tell him about why he’d been distracted, because he still wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to do. And Alex wasn’t the best with half-baked plans. It was better to keep quiet about it. At least until he had an idea of what to do about the marathon.

His first few classes slipped by quickly, all boring him half to death. School made no sense to him. It felt like it was something that existed only to make him suffer.

But lunch. Lunch was his friend.

Searching the sea of students for Alex’s head, Reggie wandered past the numerous tables. Finally, he saw Alex through the cafeteria and started toward him. But as he walked, his foot got caught on something. And he went down. His lunch met his face as he landed on the tile floor. Lifting his head, his eyeline was blocked by a pair of dirty sneakers. Reggie frowned and his eyes trailed upward, settling on a face he recognized but didn’t know personally. Shit.

“Whoa, you ok?” Luke Patterson’s voice drifted down to him.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Reggie scrambled up to him feet, leaving his lunch tray abandoned on the ground. He wiped his face with his sleeve and smiled nervously. “Yeah, I’m, uh… I’m all good. Thanks for asking.”

And then he turned and hurried away, leaving Luke Patterson behind him.

Staring at his reflection, Reggie turned the tap on and grabbed a handful of paper towels. He still had marinara all over him. On his face. In his hair. On his clothes. He was a mess. And he was hungry.

Wetting the paper towels, he heard the bathroom door open and shut. Looking in the mirror to see who it was, he let out a breath when he saw Alex. Reggie wasn’t sure he could’ve handled someone else seeing him like that. He wasn’t mentally prepared to laugh it off yet.

“Reg, do you need help? I saw what happened out there,” Alex gestured back to the door and Reggie focused on the stain on his shirt. Of course, it would happen when he decided to wear a white shirt. Of course.

“I don’t know how you could help… Unless you have like a stain stick or something?” a soft laugh bubbled out with his words. Partially because he was joking and partially because he wouldn’t have been surprised if Alex had actually had a stain stick with him for some reason. But Alex just frowned. Reggie was stuck with his stain.

He wiped at the sauce still clinging to the front of his hair, managing to get most of it out. Sparing a glance at Alex, Reggie smiled and rolled his eyes. “So, did anyone pick up my lunch tray? I didn’t mean to leave it…”

“Yeah, uh, yeah. Julie was gonna grab it, but Luke got to it first since he was right there.”

“Oh, good.”

Thoughts were piling up in Reggie’s head. Well, really one thought over and over. And the thought was this, Luke Patterson had watched him trip and fall in spaghetti. If Reggie was anybody else, he would’ve been mortified. As it was, he was simply embarrassed. And definitely wishing he’d had a different first impression on Luke. But when did he get what he wanted?

Alex stayed with Reggie as he finished cleaning himself up. They headed out, Reggie still branded with a marinara stain on his shirt, as the first bell rang.

The two of them split up as they walked to class, Reggie heading to science and Alex making his way to drama. Sitting down, Reggie rubbed at the stain again hoping it would magically disappear if he kept at it. But no matter how hard he tried, the stain was still there. Practically mocking him. He frowned down at it and gave up. It wasn’t worth his time and effort.

“Did you get anything to eat?” the voice came from somewhere on his right, but Reggie ignored it. He didn’t want to eavesdrop on someone else’s conversation. Especially one as boring as that. But the voice sounded again, and he couldn’t tune it out. “Hey, spaghetti guy.”

Reggie winced and looked over at who was talking. He masked his previous expression with an easy smile and replied, “Sorry, I didn’t know you were talking to me.”

Luke grinned back, it was a lopsided and endearing smile and Reggie almost couldn’t keep looking at him. “It’s all good. I just- Do you want some of this?”

He offered a protein bar and Reggie stared at it, not sure whether he should take it. His stomach growled quietly, betraying him, and he nodded. Taking the bar, Reggie hid it under his desk as he opened it. He took a big bite of it and, without waiting to swallow, spoke again. “Thanks, my lunch was… well, you know.”

Luke nodded, a soft laugh joining it.

“Do you always have protein bars to give to people covered in spaghetti?” Reggie asked as he finished the bar.

“Oh,” another laugh. “No, I have them on me because of track. You just got lucky.”

Reggie looked at the wrapper in his hand and then back at Luke. Track. He’d known Luke ran track. It was common knowledge. But he hadn’t thought about it. Not until he said it. But… He couldn’t come out and ask Luke for help. Could he? That would be too much. They didn’t even know each other. Still, it was the only plan he’d been able to come up with. And it didn’t seem like a terrible idea. It also didn’t seem like a great one though.

But before he could ask, or decide not to, the teacher started the lesson and Luke had turned away. He’d missed his chance.

Sighing, Reggie settled into science class. He heard the teacher droning on about elements and reactions and all sorts of other things, but he was busy thinking about Luke and what him being on the track team could mean. It could mean nothing. Or…

Or it could be his first step to getting a dog.


	2. it's a longshot, obviously... isn't it?

School let out for the day and Reggie found Julie, Flynn, and Alex waiting for him by the bike rack. Julie waved excitedly over at him when she noticed Reggie making his way over to them. He waved back, matching her energy.

“Reggie!”

“Julie!”

The two hugged and when they pulled away, Julie looped her arm around Reggie’s waist. He grinned at Flynn and Alex, waiting for Flynn to grab her bike. She knelt at the lock and started working on it.

“So…” Julie’s tone was leading, almost teasing.

“So what?”

“Do you need tips on walking?”

“Ughhh, it’s not my fault that chair leg was in my way!”

Alex covered his mouth with his hand, but Reggie could still tell he was smiling. He stuck his tongue out at Alex before turning his attention back to Julie.

Julie bumped her hip against him and laughed gently. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Reg.”

“There was a chair! There was!”

Alex patted Reggie’s shoulder as Flynn stood back up, bike at her side. He swatted at Alex’s hand, hitting his own shoulder in the process. Alex stifled a laugh which trigged Reggie’s laughter as well. The four of them started up, their amusement merging into one sound as they began to walk.

They traveled together down the sidewalk, Julie and Reggie still linked together. Flynn walked her bike, not bothering to get on it. Sometimes Reggie found himself wondering why she even rode it to school in the mornings. She didn’t live that far away, and she always had to walk it back once school was done. But he didn’t ask, and she didn’t explain why unprompted.

Flynn’s house was their first stop and they waved at her as she pushed her bike up the driveway. Julie detached herself from Reggie and followed quickly after Flynn, giving big enthusiastic waves to Reggie and Alex as she did.

With just the two of them left, they continued on toward Alex’s house. Reggie took a deep breath and looked down at his shoes as they walked.

“Alex?”

“Hmm?”

“You know how Luke is captain of the track team?” he was diving in headfirst. He had to.

“Yeah…”

“And you know how I want a dog?”

“Yeah?” Alex’s voice was already filled with confusion.

“Well, my dad said that I could get a dog. If I run a marathon. And by run a marathon, I mean like run a really fast marathon.”

“O…k…?”

Reggie took a moment and then pushed all of the words out in one long string, “Do you think it would be a really bad idea if I asked Luke if he could help me maybe learn how to run faster so I can finally get a dog?”

Alex stopped dead in his tracks and faced Reggie. Concern and confusion were etched across his features. “You wanna ask Luke to help you get a dog? Luke Patterson?”

He nodded vigorously, his eyes darting from Alex’s face to the ground to a tree and back again.

“That’s certainly an… interesting… idea.”

“So, bad idea?”

A pause. He already knew the answer. He’d already told himself the exact same thing before he had even asked Alex.

“I don’t know, man. It seems like a longshot…” Alex shrugged and started walking again. “Sorry.”

Reggie trailed after him. It was a longshot. “No, you’re right.”

Alex slung an arm over Reggie’s shoulders as they moved. “Maybe I can help somehow. I could talk to your dad? You know how parents are around me.”

“Yeah, I don’t think your golden child routine is going to work this time.”

They talked some more as they made their way to Alex’s house, the conversation shifting topic a few times. Finally, they arrived, and Alex headed inside leaving Reggie on his own. He felt lonely the moment he was gone, like other people were the only things keeping him from the reality that he had to go home. And yet, despite the fact that he knew he had to return eventually, Reggie swerved and started toward the park.

He sat down on one of the benches, tilting his head back to gaze up at the branches swaying overhead. The breeze was nice, and the sun was just bright enough to warm his skin without burning him. Life was better outdoors.

Light filtered through the leaves and he heard people talking and laughing and living. Closing his eyes against the gentle sunlight, a soft smile spread across his face. He felt more at home in a random park than he did in his own house. It was why he couldn’t wait to get a dog. Reggie just didn’t want to be alone anymore. And he knew, he knew that a dog couldn’t fix his problems, but he wouldn’t be quite so on his own.

Heavy breathing caught his attention and Reggie opened his eyes slightly, searching for the source. But there wasn’t anyone in front of him. Just the wide expanse of grass and people in the distance. Still, he could hear what sounded like someone catching their breath.

The sound started to regulate, getting softer, and Reggie figured it must have been someone passing by. A jogger probably. He went to close his eyes again when footsteps joined the fading breaths.

Whirling around on the bench, Reggie saw Luke. His eyes widened and he couldn’t make sense of it. He was caught in some sort of bizarre reality crash. Because not once, not twice, but three times, Luke Patterson was approaching him. Luke raised his hand in a wave and Reggie waved back, completely unable to do anything else.

“Spaghetti! Can I sit with you?”

Reggie blinked in surprise and nodded. “Yeah, totally!” His brain caught up to him after a moment and he placed his hands on his thighs. “My name’s Reggie, actually.”

Luke frowned for a second, but it quickly dissolved in laughter. “Shit man! I’m sorry!”

“No, no, it’s fine. Really. Just thought you should know.”

“Yeah, I should’ve asked earlier. Uh, my name’s Luke.”

“I know,” shit.

“Oh yeah?” Luke grinned and looked right at Reggie. “Has my fame and recognition already spread throughout the school?”

“Uh, yeah dude.”

The two laughed lightly and Reggie balled his hands into fists as he sat on the bench. He’d missed his opportunity earlier. But he had another. He could ask him. Even if Alex was right and it was a longshot. It was still worth a shot. Right?

“So, actually, I wanted to ask you something earlier,” Reggie glanced over at Luke and then back down at his hands.

“What is it?”

“I was wondering if you could help me train for a marathon?” he plastered on a smile and hoped it looked sweet and endearing instead of nervous.

Luke stared back at him, confusion clear on his face. “Train you? Why?”

“Well, see my dad told me that if I can run this marathon in like record time, I can finally get a dog. And that’s something I’ve been trying to do for a while now. So, you know, it would probably be a good idea to get some help with training.”

Luke nodded, once, twice. “Ok, sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope ur all doing alright !! stay safe and have a nice night :)


	3. it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a duck in a top hat?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> reggie's plan is finally falling into place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is a little late,, hope u enjoy !! :)

Reggie opened his mouth to say something but shut it when he realized he didn’t have any words. Sure? Sure was as good as yes. Wasn’t it?

He found his voice after a too long pause and forced something out, anything out. “Wait, really?”

“Why not?” Luke smiled. “But I have two requests.”

“Yeah, ok. What are they?”

“One, can you help me with my science homework? And two, I have to be able to come see your dog when you get it.” His smile morphed from simple and kind to something brighter and slightly off-center. It felt more real. It felt more like Luke. Even though Reggie didn’t really have many points of reference to make that claim.

“Help with science and you want to meet my dog? Of course! Sounds good to me!” Reggie was silently thanking the universe for the fact that Luke had asked for help with science. Any other class and he would’ve been screwed. Well, except maybe for music, but he’d never tried to teach anyone else guitar.

“Cool,” again that smile. “Looks like we have a deal.”

Luke put his hand out to shake on it and Reggie took it, sealing their agreement. He tried not to focus too much on where their hands met. And he tried even harder not to focus on when their hands parted. The important thing was that he had a solid plan.

Without saying much else, Luke stood up and stretched. “I need to get back home, thanks for letting me take a little breather. See you at school tomorrow, Reggie.”

Reggie waved, not trusting himself to find the right words in time. Once Luke was gone, Reggie figured he should head to his own house. He didn’t want to be out too long. Besides, he had homework and a possible dog to think about.

Unlocking his front door, Reggie slipped inside. He shut it behind him as quietly as possible and rushed to his bedroom. Everything was quiet as he fell onto his bed, dropping his backpack next to him. It was refreshing. The silence. But it still felt charged. Like any minute a lightning bolt would rip right through his house and his parents would become the thunder. Loud and rumbling. He could picture it. The bright white fading into fighting. But it wasn’t reality. Not right then. No, it was quiet and it was building and if it blew, at least he’d had a moment.

He pulled his textbooks out of his bag and switched on his cd player, starting on his homework. Reggie was able to get through half of his work before he had to turn his music up. But it was ok. He was one step closer to not being so alone.

-

Waking up with his alarm, Reggie grinned as he thought about what the day entailed. He threw an easy outfit on, grabbed something quick to eat, and ran out the door. There was no way he was going to be late to school. He hurried, catching sight of Alex not too far ahead of him as he passed by his house.

“Alex! Wait up!”

Alex turned to look at Reggie, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. Unfortunately, his sudden stop didn’t give the person skating behind him enough time to stop. And it gave Reggie even less time to warn him. He winced as Alex was practically run over.

Reggie ran the rest of the way to Alex, slowing down only when he saw the guy help Alex up off the ground. He hung back a bit, letting them talk. But after a moment it seemed like Alex’s brain had broken, so Reggie jumped in. He stuck his hand out to the skateboarder, trying to take some of the focus away from Alex and his apparent shutdown.

“Hey, I see you’ve met Alex. I’m Reggie!”

The guy took his hand and shook, and Reggie couldn’t help but notice how different it felt from when he and Luke had shaken hands. “Nice to meet you. I’m Willie.” He turned his attention back to Alex, a gentle grin brightening his features. “Sorry again for pancaking you.”

Alex made a dismissive gesture with his hand, shaking his head slightly. “It’s really no problem. I shouldn’t have stopped. So, uh… water under the bridge.”

“Alright, cool!” Willie set his skateboard against the sidewalk, placing one foot on it. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

And just like that, he was gone.

Reggie looked at Alex as he watched the guy skate off. Nudging him in the side, Reggie started walking again. Alex lingered for a moment more before joining. He was practically vibrating with the news that Luke had agreed to help him, but he could see that Alex wasn’t really paying attention to what was happening. He’d save the information. Reggie could tell all three of them at lunch and see what the group consensus was. Yeah, he liked that plan better anyway.

Alex broke his silence, “He… he was cute, huh?”

Searching for the disappearing shape of the skateboarder, Reggie donned his very own lopsided grin and elbowed Alex lightly in the side. “Yeah, man. Are you ever going to talk to him again?”

“Yeah! Yeah, I will,” he paused, gazing down at the sidewalk. “Well, maybe? I mean, I guess if I see him again. Hopefully.”

Reggie slung his arm over Alex’s shoulders and let his head bounce lightly against his shoulder as they walked. “I’m sure you’ll get to see him again.”

They got to school before the first bell could even ring, lingering in the courtyard until they had to get to class. Flynn saw them first, bouncing in the air, waving her arms over her head. Alex and Reggie headed over, pulling apart from each other as they sat on opposite sides of the bench the girls had claimed. Julie put her hand up for a high-five and Reggie happily obliged her.

“It’s nice to see you in the morning sunlight for once, Reginald,” Flynn tapped his leg with the toe of her shoe.

“Well, I aim to please, Flynnigan.”

She grimaced slightly at the name, trying to kick out at him from her spot on the bench. Reggie scooted away, swinging his legs out of reach.

Julie threw her own legs over Flynn’s in an attempt to stop her. It worked.

“No murder before lunch, guys,” Julie said, smiling as she spoke.

Both Reggie and Flynn lifted their hands up in mock surrender, but when Julie wasn’t looking, Flynn gave Reggie the ‘I’m watching you’ gesture. He copied her, sending it right back.

Realizing the opportunity he had, Reggie opened his mouth to tell them about his agreement with Luke. But as he did, the bell rang overhead and Julie was getting up. She slid her backpack on, Flynn following suit. He still had lunch. Reggie shrugged to himself and stood, waiting for Alex to walk with him to class. As they parted ways, the group waved at each other, energetically. Reggie and Julie giving the most energy.

Reggie sat and sat and sat as his classes flew by and dragged on at the same time. He wanted lunch. He wanted to tell Alex and Julie and Flynn. And he was waiting for science too. Wanting it.

But in his third period, a fire drill reverberated through the halls and filled up all of the space in Reggie’s head. His class stood and filed out of the room, leaving the school behind. The day was bright around him as they lined up outside. It was a different bright to the fluorescents of the school. A good bright. A warm bright.

“Evans!”

Something inside Reggie tugged. It wasn’t his last name, but still. Something tugged.

“Patterson, hey!”

Oh. That was what had tugged. Reggie risked a quick glance and saw Luke standing with Nick Danforth-Evans. It made sense. Nick and Luke ran track together. But it felt weird, seeing Luke before science. Like somehow time had gotten twisted up.

Turning away, Reggie stared out into the distance. He didn’t know what to say and he wanted to tell the others before he talked to Luke again.

Nick and Luke’s conversation got drowned out by the rest of the chatter in the air. So, Reggie focused on the sky and the clouds, searching for shapes amongst the light blue. He spotted one that looked kind of like a bunny, watching as it lazily drifted across the sky. And as he sought out another cloud, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Reggie already knew who it was before he turned, so he wasn’t surprised to see Luke standing there.

“Hey!” Luke’s gaze searched the sky where Reggie had been looking, before falling to his face. “What were you looking at?”

“Oh, just the clouds.”

That easy, stupid grin appeared as though it had never been absent, and Reggie had to look away from it. He couldn’t stare at it for too long. It was too bright.

“The clouds?” Luke turned his gaze back up to the sky, his eyes searching, searching, searching. A moment of silence stretched between them. Nothing bad, just quiet. When suddenly, Luke’s hand shot up. “There!”

“What?” Reggie followed the arc of his arm, but he couldn’t tell exactly where Luke was pointing.

“It’s a duck. But like a duck with a top hat.”

Reggie looked again, trying to figure out what Luke was seeing. His eyes traced the sky, flitting over each cloud in turn before he got to one that slightly resembled what Luke had described. And the longer he stared at it, the more it seemed to transform into exactly what Luke had said. A duck with a top hat. Floating in the sky.

Instead of saying anything back, Reggie started humming ‘Hello! My Baby’ under his breath and Luke barked out a laugh.

It was weird. Luke put Reggie on edge. Like he was covered in a million fire ants and if he moved, they would all bite at once. But he also felt uncomplicated and… kind. A mound of cotton candy to distract the ants. It didn’t make any sense to him. How one person could make him so nervous and so comfortable.

Luke let his hand fall back to his side, shifting his eyes from the sky to Reggie. “Since we’re here now, I was wondering when you wanted to get started on training?”

It was Reggie’s turn to look over at Luke instead of the sky. “Right, whenever works for you, I guess? I don’t really have a schedule outside of school and work. So, I’m usually pretty free.”

Luke considered this, nodding in thought. “Start tomorrow then? After school ends.”

Reggie smiled, thinking for a moment before he responded, “Yeah, that should work.”

“Alright, it’s a date!” a brief pause. “A training session.”

And as Reggie was still recovering from the word date, Luke had rejoined his class’ line and they were all headed back inside.


	4. the age old question: roller-skating or skateboarding?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lunch time :)

Lunch snuck up on Reggie. He’d been waiting not so patiently for it before the fire drill, but after… Well, after, he’d kind of forgotten most of his thoughts. It wasn’t a big deal that Luke had said date. Because he didn’t mean it like that. But Reggie couldn’t seem to be able to convince himself it wasn’t important. After all, Luke Patterson had referred to them hanging out as a date. And when he thought too hard about it, Reggie couldn’t see straight.

So, yeah, lunch snuck up on him.

Watching out for any possible tripping hazards, Reggie dropped down into one of the open seats at their table. Alex and Julie were already sitting, talking amongst themselves. Instead of interrupting, Reggie worked on opening his carton of chocolate milk.

As he lifted the milk to take a sip, Julie abruptly turned to him and gestured at Alex. “Reggie, please tell Alex that roller-skating is more impressive than skateboarding.”

“Hey, I didn’t say skateboarding was cooler than roller-skating! I think they’re both interesting.”

“No, roller-skating is objectively better.”

Reggie finally interjected, “You’re not going to agree.”

“Why not?” Julie cocked her head a little as she spoke.

“Because you both have weird emotions tied up in this.”

At his comment, Julie looked down at the table, a light blush coating her cheeks. She shrugged and pushed her hair out of her face. Alex looked equally embarrassed, staring off to his right.

Then Julie’s head shot up and she turned her full focus back on Alex. “Wait, what emotions do you have with skateboarding?”

Alex remained silent, not looking at Julie. He fiddled with the zippers on his backpack, pretending to search for something in its contents. Eventually, he glanced over at Julie and saw she was still watching him. With a trepidatious smile, Alex sighed. “I just met a guy who was skateboarding earlier, and it seemed like an interesting skill. That’s all.”

Julie’s head whipped around a few times, her eyes searching Alex’s face and then Reggie’s. Flynn plopped down in one of the other seats as Julie observed them. “What guy?”

“A guy? There’s a guy?” Flynn’s grin was wide, mischievous even.

Alex groaned. “No, there’s no guy.”

“Not yet,” Reggie added with a playful wink.

The girls laughed, Flynn bumping Alex with her shoulder. Reggie took a quick sip of his chocolate milk and considered how he was going to bring up Luke. Every possible start felt so unnatural, just wrong enough to feel like he shouldn’t use it.

“Ok, so I was thinking we could watch the Hannah Montana movie for movie night tomorrow?” Julie’s proposition pushed its way past Reggie’s thoughts.

“Yeah, that… yeah, I’m down.” Alex said with a soft smile.

Flynn nodded vigorously, raising a finger as she opened her mouth. “But none of you can talk through the songs. That includes no pausing during songs.”

Julie’s hands flew to her chest and she gasped dramatically. “I can’t believe you would ever think that low of me!”

Alex seemed to notice how quiet Reggie was being because he asked, “What about you, Reg?”

“I can’t make it.”

“Nooo! Why?” Julie frowned, reaching out for his hand.

He gave it to her and trained his gaze on the link of their hands. “I already made plans for tomorrow and I don’t think I’ll be done in time. Sorry, guys. I totally spaced.”

“You made plans? Work plans?” Alex looked genuinely confused.

Reggie shook his head. “Actually, Luke and I are going to be working on something together.”

It was Flynn’s turn to look confused. “Luke Patterson?”

“Yeah.”

“He actually agreed to help you out?” Alex’s voice dripped with apprehension.

Julie and Flynn looked between the two, their eyes ping-ponging back and forth. Reggie folded the opening of the carton a few times, nodding. He understood what Alex was feeling. It was the same thing he felt when he thought too hard about Luke.

Julie spoke out into the soft silence that had begun to encapsulate them, “Help you out with what?”

“Getting a dog.”

“Um, yeah, I’m gonna need more than that.”

“Right,” Reggie smiled sheepishly, realizing he hadn’t told either Flynn or Julie about what his dad had said. “So, I have to run a marathon because my dad said it was the only way he would let me get a dog. And Luke’s on the track team so I just figured…”

“Oh, ok.” Julie nodded as if it made complete sense to her.

Flynn looked less convinced. “And he just said yes? Did you blackmail him with something? You can be honest. This is a safe space.”

“No, nothing like that! He asked me to help him with science, but otherwise yeah, he just said yes.”

“So, what I’m hearing is you might get a dog? How long do I have to wait for this to become a reality?” Flynn placed her hands on Reggie’s shoulders and shook him gently.

Laughing, Reggie said, “I don’t know yet! But you guys will be the first to know. Well, you guys and Luke.”

“Wow, I can’t believe we’re being replaced by Luke Patterson…” Alex said, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Nah man, no one could ever replace you.”

Julie erupted with a loud ‘aww’ right as Flynn jokingly said, “You’re gonna make me puke!”

The bell rang, letting them know they had to get to class as Reggie finished up throwing out his trash. He brushed his hands against his pants and started toward science on his own. Not long into walking, someone bumped up against him. Reggie moved over to get out of their way, but they just bumped into him again. Frowning in confusion, he looked over and his expression quickly shifted to mild surprise.

“Sorry! I didn’t know it was you.”

“No worries, dude,” Luke replied, pulling his backpack around to his chest. He began rummaging through it and Reggie was about to ask what he was looking for, when Luke pulled something out. A protein bar. Putting his backpack back on properly, Luke held the bar out to Reggie. “For you, spaghetti head.”

Reggie stared down at the bar in Luke’s hand, unsure what to make of the offering. “Oh, I’m good. I had lunch today. But thanks.”

“Well, you could always keep it for later if you get hungry again. My mom always packs me too many anyway,” he leaned in conspiratorially at this, dropping his voice. “She’s a worrier.”

Taking the protein bar, Reggie tucked it into a side pocket on his backpack and opened the door to the science classroom. He held it for Luke, heading in after. It didn’t take long for their teacher to get into the lesson and as Reggie listened, he couldn’t help but watch Luke. His eyebrows were drawn together and his features were scrunched up and Reggie could tell he’d need to help Luke with the lesson when they eventually got together for tutoring. But Luke was kind of… cute looking when he was confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope ur all doing well :D !! also,,,, DESTIEL???? what the FUCK ?!?! ok,, uh,, have a nice day !! <3


	5. home is where the movies are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> training day and movie night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late upload !! hope u enjoy :)

With butterflies flooding his stomach, Reggie walked down to the track. Part of him wished he’d gone along with Alex, Flynn, and Julie for their movie night. But he had a plan and he had to work on it. And he didn’t want to ditch Luke. Actually, he wanted to see Luke, it just all made him nervous.

Realizing Luke wasn’t there yet, Reggie took the opportunity to retie his shoelaces. He’d already made a fool of himself by tripping in front of Luke once. He didn’t need to add to that. So, he propped his foot up on the lowest seat of the bleachers and started fixing his laces. Distracted by his shoes, Reggie didn’t notice that Luke had arrived until Luke dropped his backpack on the bleachers next to his foot. He startled, jumping back a little, nearly losing his balance. Luke’s bright laughter filtered through the air as Reggie righted himself, and he couldn’t even feel awkward.

“You sure you’ll be able to run?” Luke started, a glint in his eye. “Seems like you have a pretty hard time standing.”

“Yeah, no, I’ll be good! Just take it easy on me?”

“Oh, Reggie, man,” Luke rested a hand on Reggie’s shoulder. “You can trust me.”

A lie. It was a lie. Because the second Luke got him out on the track, he had Reggie run in a full sprint for as long as he could. It seemed like a terrible way to start their training, but maybe Reggie felt that way because his lungs were on fire. They were flaming lumps of flesh in his chest that he wasn’t even sure still brought in oxygen. And he was doubled over.

Hands on his knees, Reggie was wheezing, trying to get in as much air as he could. Luke stopped beside him, handing him a water bottle.

“Don’t drink this until you’ve got some breath back. I don’t want you choking.”

Reggie nodded, unable to talk. Heaving in breath after breath, he slowly came back to himself. Downing most of the water, Reggie scowled up at Luke. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“Hey! I only wanted to see what our starting point is.”

“Uh huh, by trying to kill me.”

Luke paused, fixing his hair. He smiled over at Reggie and shrugged, “Well, I did a pretty shitty job if I was trying to get rid of you.”

“No, you did a good job… I’m just unkillable.” Reggie grinned, fully standing back up. He took another swig of the water and walked over to the bleachers, collapsing onto them.   
Luke joined him, sitting close, but not too close.

“You’re unkillable?”

“Of course. How else would you explain me living through that training?”

“I think you just got lucky, dude.”

“Maybe,” Reggie said, looking right at Luke. “Maybe not.”

The two of them sat together for a moment longer before Luke began packing his things up. He shouldered his backpack, putting a hand out to Reggie. Switching the bottle from one hand to the other, Reggie hit his hand against Luke’s and watched as Luke backed up.

“Monday?”

Reggie cocked his head, waiting for some explanation. When it was clear one wasn’t coming, he asked, “What?”

“Do you wanna do this again on Monday?”

“Yeah!” Reggie said, trying and failing to calm his response.

Luke shot him an easy peace sign and started off toward the edge of the school’s property. Pulling his backpack closer to himself, Reggie stayed where he was on the bleachers.   
He watched as Luke grew smaller and smaller, becoming just another spot on the horizon. And he felt a gentle want inside him. A slightly nonsensical want to get up and ask Luke to hang out. Just for fun. The two of them without an agreement pushing them together. But he stayed and he watched and when Luke was gone, he checked the time. Reggie still had time to make it to movie night.

He knocked on Julie’s front door, shifting his backpack further up on his shoulder. Shouts of indignation sounded from somewhere inside the house and then the door swung open with Julie on the other side.

“Hey! What did I say about pausing during songs?” Flynn’s voice rang out as Julie smiled.

“Reggie! You made it!” she moved out of the doorway to let him enter the house. “We’re like halfway through, do you want us to start the movie over?”

Shaking his head, Reggie sat on the floor in front of Flynn. She patted his head lightly and he tilted his head back, looking up at her. Sticking her tongue out at him, Reggie grinned and copied her. Julie started the movie back up and music filled the room.

He let the movie absorb him, listening as Flynn started singing along. Julie joined in shortly, jumping to her feet and holding her hand out to Alex. He took it and the two danced through the living room. Flynn tapped Reggie’s shoulder and he stood up, dancing with her. The four of them spun and jumped and danced, switching up partners as the song progressed. When the song ended, they sat back down. But Reggie could still feel the wide grin on his face, and he could hear the echoes of their laughter.

Julie and Flynn serenaded each other with one of the last songs and Reggie ended up watching them instead of the movie. They smiled so warmly as they sang, a light blush dusted across Julie’s cheeks. She broke eye contact with Flynn for a moment, looking down. But when Flynn put her hands on Julie’s shoulders, she looked up at her again.

And then the movie was over. And Reggie didn’t want to go back to his house. Because he was already home. With Julie and Flynn and Alex. He was home.

Julie brought him back to the moment with a light nudge. “Do you wanna call your mom and dad? Flynn’s staying over and I’m sure my dad wouldn’t mind. I think he’s basically adopted you anyway.”

“Really?”

She nodded and reached for his backpack, finding his phone. Holding it out to him, she said, “Call.”

Reggie took the phone from her and called his mom once he was out of the room. His mom seemed to be distracted by noise in the background as she absentmindedly agreed. He thanked her and hung up before she could take back what she’d said.

Settling on the floor of Julie’s bedroom, he watched as Julie and Flynn grabbed makeup from Julie’s vanity. They spread it around themselves on the floor and the bed and sat down. Julie did Flynn’s makeup first. And then Flynn did Julie’s. And when they were done with each other, they worked together to do Reggie’s. Staring at his smiling image in Julie’s phone screen, Reggie realized just how happy he was.

The night went on, seemingly endless. It was late by the time they all fell asleep, faces wiped clean and minds drenched in fun. And Reggie thought once more about how he was home as he drifted off into a quiet slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also,, just wanna say memento mori to all my unus annus fans out there! ok,, have a nice day and stay safe !! <3


	6. daisy and the dogwalker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> reggie and alex hang out. reggie and luke train

Reggie sat on the front stoop of Alex’s house. He wasn’t sure if he should knock, or just stay where he was. He was never really sure of anything when he was at Alex’s house. When he was there, he felt watched. Judged. He felt too loud.

The door opened behind him and Reggie glanced over his shoulder at Alex, standing in the doorway. He stumbled as he got to his feet and slid past Alex, into the house.

It was quiet in the house. Reggie always noticed when houses were quiet. Or when they were loud for all the right reasons. It was just something that stood out to him because of the loudness of his own house.

Alex’s house landed somewhere in the middle. It was quiet, sure. But it wasn’t quiet for the right reasons. Not lately, at least. Not since… Not since Alex had come out. Reggie could still remember when it was a comfortable quiet. He’d liked Alex’s house a lot better then. He had felt less loud then too. Since things had changed, whenever he hummed a tune he was met with a silencing look from either Alex’s mom or dad. Sometimes both.

So, heading through to Alex’s backyard, Reggie kept quiet to match the house around him.

Sitting on the back porch the same way he’d sat on the front stoop, Reggie watched as Alex grabbed an umbrella and his jacket. He gestured for Reggie to join him and the two left through the gate in the backyard’s fence.

Once they had made it to the next block, the tension eased from Alex’s stance. Reggie walked backwards so he could face Alex as they kept moving.

“Hey, where are we even going?” Reggie asked.

Alex smiled awkwardly, pulling his jacket on. “I was thinking about the flower garden?”

“Oh,” Reggie turned back around so he was walking normally. “Will you let me take a couple of the flowers with me this time?”

“Absolutely not!” Alex replied with a slight scowl.

Shrugging, Reggie bumped against Alex. “What if I promise to give you one?”

“Still no.”

“Eh, worth a try.”

The two of them continued until they reached the flower garden, hiding away in the little hollow Alex had found years before. Surrounded by flower bushes, Reggie pulled out a packet of gummy worms. He held the bag out to Alex, but he turned down the offering.

Popping one of the gummy worms in his mouth, Reggie picked a petal up off the grass. He rubbed it in between his fingers and examined the colors spread across the singular petal.

“So, are you doing alright?”

Alex looked up at him, slightly startled by the question. “What? Yeah, of course.”

“Ok, good. But… you know you can talk to me whenever, right?”

“I know,” he paused and played with a couple blades of grass absentmindedly. “Thanks.”

Reggie nodded and they lapsed back into slight silence.

Every now and then Reggie noticed Alex peer out from between the leaves and petals at something beyond their hiding place. He tried to copy him and look out as well, but it was hard to see through the bushes.

Shuffling closer to Alex, Reggie tried to peak through the gap Alex was using to see. But still his vision was limited to the surrounding flowers. Giving up on trying to see through the bushes, Reggie sat back where he had been. He stared at Alex for a moment longer, hoping he would give some context to what was happening. After it became clear that wasn’t going to happen, Reggie kicked out at Alex.

“What was that for?” Alex asked, whirling around to face Reggie.

“Sorry,” Reggie said sheepishly before adding. “What are you doing?”

Alex’s whole face was suddenly alight with a bright blush and he fiddled with his rings, refusing to look at Reggie. “I… uh… well…”

“Yeah?”

“You know how the skate park where we go with Flynn is right over there?”

Reggie nodded, looking at the spot Alex had been using to see outside of their little hideaway. “Wait! Were you looking for that guy? What was his name again?”

“Willie,” Alex mumbled, still playing with his rings.

“Yeah! You were totally looking for him!” Reggie laughed lightly, nudging Alex with his leg. “Dude, that’s so creepy!”

“What? No, it’s not!” Alex thought for a moment. “Wait, fuck, is it?”

“I mean, a little,” Reggie shrugged and then started to stand up so he could finally see past the bushes. “So, is he here?”

Alex grabbed at Reggie’s shirt and tugged him back down to the ground. Landing with a solid thud and a hearty laugh, Reggie took in Alex’s panicked expression. He patted him on the shoulder and smiled.

“Is that a yes?”

Hanging his head, Alex muttered a quick, “Yes.”

More laughter bubbled up and out of Reggie. And soon enough Alex had joined him, both of them losing it over something that they wouldn’t have been able to explain to an outside party.

When Reggie managed to wrestle his breath away from his laughter, he asked, “Are you going to talk to him?”

“Oh, absolutely not.”

“Then why are we here?”

“I like the flowers,” Alex shrugged. “And I thought maybe I’d have the guts to say something to him. I was wrong.”

“Ok.”

Reggie considered pushing Alex out of the bush, but he knew that would come off far crueler than he intended. So, he let Alex chicken out of talking to Willie. And the two sat and talked, Alex finally taking a gummy worm when Reggie offered for a second time.

They stayed until they were certain Willie had left and as Reggie walked with Alex back to his house, the sky cracked open. Rain poured down on them and Alex popped his umbrella open, handing it to Reggie. He didn’t bother walking under it, opting to let the rain soak him through. But Reggie was grateful for the protection the umbrella provided. He didn’t understand Alex’s love of rain. He wasn’t sure he ever would. Rain was just one step on the way to a thunderstorm and he’d never liked those.

But he liked seeing the way Alex’s face cleared as rain fell across it. Like he was opening up with the sky.

They parted ways at Alex’s house, Alex letting Reggie keep the umbrella with him for the rest of his walk home. Reggie thanked him and started on the long way back to his house.

-

Making his way to the track, Reggie’s stomach began to drop. He had to tell Luke he was cancelling. Even though he didn’t want to. And he couldn’t even take the coward’s way out and text him, because they hadn’t bothered to exchange numbers. It had to be a face-to-face encounter, and he was worried he would chicken out on cancelling if he had to look at Luke. But he couldn’t skip out on work. And it was his fault for forgetting he had work that afternoon.

He played through a few lines in his head, trying to figure out what to say. Luke saw him walking over and waved energetically. Returning to stretching as Reggie finally stopped in front of him, Luke grinned and pointed at the sky without actually looking at it.

“Clown face up in the clouds.”

“Oh,” Reggie stared up at the clouds, catching sight of the ‘clown face’ Luke was talking about way faster than he thought he would’ve. “It looks like a clown doll!”

Luke finished his stretching, straightening up. “Exactly, man! A clown doll!”

The two grinned at each other, before Reggie remembered that time was ticking down for him. He frowned slightly, tugging gently on his necklace. Luke seemed to notice his sudden hesitation and furrowed his brow.

“I can’t train today.”

“What? Why not?”

Reggie sighed, looking back up at the clown cloud. “I forgot I have work today. And if I don’t want to be late getting to the Schaefers’ house, I have to leave now.”

Luke gave a slight nod, a small frown of disappointment visible on his face. “I understand. You gotta do what you gotta do.”

“I’m sorry though. I’d switch days with them, but dogs can’t exactly walk themselves.”

A gentle silence fell over them as Luke mulled over what Reggie had just said. After a moment, his face brightened, and he smiled over at Reggie. That same broad smile that made Reggie’s stomach fill with a flutter of butterflies.

“You walk dogs?”

“Yeah, why?”

Luke’s smile grew into something sparkling and a little mischievous. “Want company?”

-

Unlocking the door to the Schaefers’ house, Reggie motioned for Luke to wait outside. He wasn’t exactly sure what the protocol was for bringing someone dog walking with him and he didn’t want Daisy getting startled.

Searching for Daisy, Reggie thought about how Luke had offered so quickly to join him. It felt like it was something important. But he didn’t want to assume anything. And he certainly didn’t want to get his hopes up. Luke was just someone he had struck up a deal with. They were working together by happenstance. He tried to convince himself that if he had run into Nick in the cafeteria that day, the outcome would have been the same. But deep down, Reggie wasn’t sure that was true. At least not on his end.

Interrupting his thoughts, Daisy came hurtling out of one of the many bedrooms. She raced over to Reggie, running straight into his leg. And if she had been anything bigger than a toy poodle, he would’ve been on the ground from the force of her. As it was though, he was still standing, and he was working on getting her leash clipped onto her collar.

Luke was waiting where he had been when Reggie entered the house, but he was turned away, focusing on something Reggie couldn’t see. Getting closer, he tried to catch a glimpse of whatever had Luke’s attention to no avail.

“What are you doing?”

He must not have heard Reggie approaching him, because Luke whirled around so quickly, he stumbled over his own feet. Reggie jumped forward, gripping Luke’s elbow to stop him from falling.

“Dude!” Luke exclaimed once he’d gotten his balance back. “You can’t sneak up on a person!”

Reggie let out a sharp laugh, unable to hold it back. “Sorry!”

“It’s fine,” he smiled at Reggie and then his smile quickly widened into a grin as he spotted Daisy. “Who’s this?”

Picking Daisy up off the ground, Reggie held her in his arms. “This is Daisy! And don’t worry, she won’t bite.”

Luke reached out a hand to pet her and Daisy started yapping loudly at him. He pulled his hand back and Reggie laughed again. Setting her back on the grass, Reggie knelt and held a hand out to her. Daisy trotted up to him and he pet her. Looking up at Luke, Reggie waited for him to copy him.

Eyeing Daisy, Luke mimicked Reggie’s movements and put a hand out for Daisy to sniff. She wandered over to him and paused. Luke pet the top of her head and when she didn’t bark at him again, he relaxed into the motion.

“See? No biting.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t say she would bark like that.”

Reggie shrugged and stood back up. “So, what are we doing?”

“We’re going to bring Daisy along for your training.”

“It’s not going to be as much as Friday, right?”

It was Luke’s turn to laugh. He took the leash from Reggie and started walking.

“Right?” Reggie repeated, trailing after the two.

-

They walked at a normal pace for a bit, Daisy trotting between them. Reggie kept glancing over at Luke, waiting for the training to begin. Or maybe just to look at him. Shaking the thought away, Reggie tried to take the leash back from Luke. But he jerked his hand away from Reggie, tightening his grip on it.

“Alright!” Luke started. “You ready?”

Reggie’s eyes widened and he turned to Luke. “I guess?”

Luke clapped Reggie on the back. “Good! I want you to lap the block while I walk Daisy.”

Taking a deep breath, Reggie looked off into the distance. “Ok, where am I stopping?”

“Oh, you’re not stopping until Daisy’s done with her walk and we’re back at her house.” He smiled and Reggie couldn’t fight the smile that appeared on his own face. “Get running!”

And so, Reggie was off.

He managed to lap the block three times before Daisy decided her walk was done and had led Luke back to the house. Stopping in the driveway, Reggie sucked in deep breaths. Returning to normal, he unlocked the door and took Daisy inside.

Coming back out, he couldn’t see Luke and figured he’d left. It would make sense. They weren’t friends. They were working together. He tried to remind himself of that again. They were friendly, not friends.

“Hey, man, you good?” Luke’s voice drifted over to him from the sidewalk and he finally caught a glimpse of him. “I think you’ve actually made some progress since last time. Which is great!”

“Thanks,” Reggie said, finding his voice. Luke hadn’t left. Luke hadn’t left?

“I need to get home, but this was fun. And Daisy is the best!” he dropped his voice to a whisper. “Do you think they’d notice if she went missing?”

Laughing lightly, Reggie nodded. “Yeah, I think they would. But I’ve thought about taking her too.”

“Great minds,” Luke said, his smile audible. “Wanna walk me home, Reg?”

His question went into Reggie’s mind, but he couldn’t process that the words were genuine. Once they finally had filtered into an understandable sentence, he wanted to say yes. He really wanted to say yes.

“I wish I could, but my parents are expecting me back for dinner.”

Luke nodded and elbowed Reggie lightly in the arm. “No problem, dude. See you later!”

They parted ways, waving a goodbye. Reggie kicked a rock as he walked home, playing through the day again in his mind. The butterflies were back, and it didn’t feel like they would be leaving anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u all enjoyed this chapter !! fuck supernatural :) and have a great day !! <3


	7. teach me tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some hanging out and some tutoring :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes,, i did name this chapter after a gilmore girls episode. no,, i could not be stopped. hope u enjoy !!

Julie and Flynn sat down on either side of Reggie, wedging him in between them. He looked between them, gentle uncertainty clouding his face.

“Reggie…” Flynn said, something in her tone betraying a smile.

“Yeah?” Reggie asked.

“We were wondering if you’re free tonight.”

Julie picked up where Flynn left off, adding to her thought. “Or will you be busy with Luke?”

Her voice became far more teasing as she said Luke’s name and Reggie had to break eye contact. He could feel that flutter return to his stomach, choosing to ignore it. Tugging lightly on his necklace, Reggie’s gaze flicked back over to Julie and then returned to the ground.

“I’m pretty sure I’m free tonight,” he turned to Flynn. “why?”

“Julie wants to mess around with the melody to one of her new songs. We were gonna ask Alex if he wanted to come over too, but…” Flynn gestured at the courtyard. “Obviously, we’ll have to wait for that.”

Reggie nodded, a smile dawning across his features. “Yeah! I’ll definitely be there!”

Both Flynn and Julie grinned back at him. And as Alex finally appeared in the courtyard, the bell echoed around them. They stood, giving passing waves to one another as they started towards their classes. 

Flynn paused as they parted, calling out to Reggie and Alex, “Oh! Bring clothes you don’t need anymore! I need fabric for something I’m working on.”

Reggie gave a double thumbs up and Alex waved again, trying to show that they’d heard her request. She blew them overexaggerated kisses and Reggie and Alex fully turned away, hurrying to their first period.

-

Focusing closely on his notes, Reggie didn’t realize someone was trying to get his attention until he felt a small wad of paper thump against his shoulder. He turned, a smile already twisting the corners of him mouth. Because he knew. He knew who it would be before he looked. There was only one person it could be. And there he was, looking slightly concerned. Luke.

Whispering so as to not alert the teacher, Luke leaned forward and asked, “Does the board say we have a test at the end of the week?”

Reggie glanced at the dry erase board, reading over it quickly. Somehow, he had forgotten to check it when he sat down, so he was silently thanking Luke for accidentally reminding him.

“Yeah, looks like it.”

Luke’s eyes widened briefly and then he eased into himself. “Could I cash in on some of that tutoring now?”

“Definitely,” Reggie paused. “Just not tonight. If that’s ok?”

Nudging him playfully, Luke grinned seeming a bit more relieved than he had been a moment before. “I’m not going to make you cancel your plans. But maybe tomorrow? And at your house, because my folks have family friends staying with us.”

“Tomorrow, my house. That should work.” But the words tasted a little sour in his mouth as he said them. Because the day didn’t matter, but the location did.

Still, Reggie agreed and when Luke smiled that lopsided grin, it was worth the worry.

-

Stuffing ill-fitting clothes into an empty bag, Reggie hummed along to the music playing through his headphones. He picked a shirt up, decorated with a solar system pattern, and hesitated. Weighing his options, Reggie set the shirt in the bag and made a mental note to ask Flynn if she could use it for something he could keep. It wasn’t like he’d ever wear the shirt again, couldn’t wear it, but he didn’t want to part with it.

Once he finished packing the clothes, he grabbed his guitar from its stand and slipped the strap over his head. And with everything he needed, Reggie slipped out his front door, music still playing in his ears.

It didn’t take him long to get to Julie’s. Following the sounds of his friends, Reggie made his way over to the studio. The doors were closed, but he could see some movement through the windows. Shifting the bag of clothes to one arm, Reggie cracked open the door and slipped inside.

“Reggie!” Flynn exclaimed, hurrying forward and taking the clothes from him. “Thank you!”

“Of course!” he grinned at her and the two walked over to the couch together. Dropping the bag next to some other clothes, Flynn sat leaning against the pile. With only a little bit of space remaining on the couch, Reggie perched on one of the arms instead. “Oh, and Flynn?”

She looked over at him. “Hmm?”

“The space shirt on the top there. You can use the scraps for whatever, but could you leave the solar system for me?”

“Oh! Yeah, definitely!” Flynn pulled the shirt over to her, running her fingers over the different planets. “I’ll save it for last. That way I can come up with something good for you.”

Reggie smiled, feeling a little bit of relief, and Flynn poked him in the side. He swatted at her and Flynn gave up, stretching out across the couch and clothes.

Knocking lightly on the studio door, Alex poked his head in. Julie waved him in, finally coming over to Reggie and Flynn with a notebook in her hands. She set it down on the coffee table in front of them, pointing at a couple of lines in her song. Notes had already been made, but there were a few question marks as well.

“Ok, so, I’m kind of having a hard time with the melody for the bridge and the beginning of the chorus. And if we could run through that a couple times…?” Julie let her sentence drift off into something question-like.

Alex looked over the lyrics and notes before taking a step away. “Yeah, let’s see if we can figure this out.”

Picking up his guitar, Reggie took his spot by an amp. He got ready, making sure everything was properly tuned. Alex settled behind the drum set and Julie stood at her keyboard. The two guys waited for Julie to start, seeing what sort of melody she wanted to try out first. As she began and her lyrics took form, Reggie and Alex joined softly. They followed her lead and stopped when she stopped, accompanying any changing thoughts she had.

Flynn listened as they played, cutting up some of the shirts the other three had given her. If anyone had walked in on the four of them, slowly working through a singular song and shredding a pile of clothes, it would have been pure confusion.

After running through the song a number of times, Julie settled on a melody, seemingly satisfied. The three of them moved away from the instruments and crowded around Flynn and the couch.

They sat together for a while, before Alex and Reggie had to go home. Flynn and Julie sat, cutting through clothes as the guys headed out. Little snippets of conversation floated out with them until they closed the studio doors. And then it was the two of them walking along the sidewalk. But they reached Reggie’s house soon enough and it was just him going up to his room.

-

Reggie waited in the school’s courtyard for any sign of Luke. He shifted from leg to leg, wanting to be walking instead of standing around. But Luke wasn’t there yet, and Reggie couldn’t leave without him.

Reaching around to his side, Reggie pulled one of Luke’s protein bars from the pocket of his backpack. He opened it up and took a bite as he leaned back against one of the walls of the school. Letting his gaze drift up and his mind wander further, Reggie lost track of the time. He was waiting one minute, two.

“Hey, sorry it took me so long.”

Blinking back into the present, he glanced over at Luke. “No problem, dude. Are you ready to go now though?”

With a quick nod and a thrown away wrapper, the two left the school, going in the direction of Reggie’s house.

Unlocking his door, Reggie led Luke inside and hurried them both up to his room. The last thing he wanted or needed was Luke meeting his parents. Especially since he hadn’t asked for permission to have someone over. He was in international waters. And if he wanted to make it out, he had to make sure everything went okay. Make sure everything seemed normal. Or normal enough, at the very least.

Once they were inside his room, Reggie tossed his backpack onto his bed and Luke quickly followed suit. He pulled some notebooks and textbooks out as Luke wandered around his room, looking things over. Reggie thought for a moment to tell him to stop, but he wouldn’t have actually meant it if he had said it. So, he let Luke examine his room.

Jotting down some last-minute notes to help Luke with, Reggie realized he was kind of excited to be the one tutoring someone else for a change. Alex was always helping him with his English assignments or Flynn was helping him with history. But Reggie helping one of them out? They were always fine on their own.

“Whoa, dude, you play guitar?” Luke’s words came out loud and excited.

Reggie looked up from what he was doing and saw Luke picking his bass up by the neck. “Yeah! Music’s like the one thing I’m really good at.”

Luke’s fingers ran down the strings, lightly plucking at them. The tinny sound fell flat without an amp on to boost it. “I don’t know about that… You seem like the kind of person who sneaks up on you with how good they are at things. I think music’s probably only one thing you’re really good at.”

Training his eyes on his notes in front of him, Reggie tried his best not to blush. He wasn’t used to that. Wasn’t used to Luke. The easy compliments that didn’t seem to cost him anything but gave so much to Reggie. What did that even mean? How could he possibly be sneaky with his skills? Instead of asking Luke to expand, Reggie simply asked, “Do you play?”

Luke stopped what he was doing, cradling the guitar in his grasp. “I play acoustic mainly, but I would love to get my hands on an electric guitar. Man, sometimes I just want to go out on the road. Be a rockstar.”

“And other times?”

He frowned, setting the bass down. “Other times I remember that it would break my mom’s heart.”

Reggie nodded, unsure how to reply to that. Not that he really got an opportunity to, because within mere moments, Luke was smiling again as if nothing had happened.

Before they could move on completely, Reggie made a quick offer that he felt he would never fulfill. Even if he wanted to. He said, “You can try and play mine sometime. My friend has amps at her house, and we all practice over there. She never minds having new people over.”

The last bit was a lie. Julie hadn’t had new people over in a while. It was always the four of them. And occasionally Ray or Carlos. But he figured she wouldn’t mind a new person, especially if it was someone like Luke.

Luke’s smile melted into that grin Reggie was becoming far too attached to and he cocked his head to one side. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Reggie looked back at his notebook. “anytime. But for now, we should probably study.”

“Oh, right!”

Joining him on the bed, Luke pulled out one of his own notebooks. They got to work on the chapters of their science textbook that Luke desperately needed revision for. And the   
afternoon seeped away from them. It wasn’t long before they’d finished, and Luke seemed more confident. It wasn’t long before he was leaving. And there Reggie was, alone in his bedroom, thinking about how Luke had been there too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for the 3rd week in a row,, all i can say is supernatural??? what is happening?? anyway! have a great day and stay safe !! <3


	8. pup boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a test, a race, and three crushes

Reggie wasn’t looking forward to the test in science. It wasn’t that he thought he would get a poor grade; he just didn’t like tests. They were too sudden and quick and full of pressure. But entering the classroom, Luke flashed him a quick thumbs up, and Reggie’s nerves eased a small bit.

Settling into the test, Reggie got to work. He knew the answers to the questions in front of him and he managed to finish with some time to spare. Once he was finished and had turned his test in, Reggie glanced at Luke. Despite his struggles with science, Luke seemed to be fairly calm while working through the different questions. It hit Reggie again how casually Luke dealt with things. Or at least how casually he dealt with the problems Reggie had seen.

Time ticked closer to the end and with only a couple of minutes to spare, Luke got up from his seat and dropped his test on the teacher’s desk. On his way back to his seat, he gave a half-hearted shrug with a small smile. Reggie smiled back and then a short bit after, the bell rang.

Everyone filed out and even as Reggie tried to hang back to talk to Luke, he got caught up in the current of his classmates.

-

Julie patted the chair next to her in music class and he hurried over to sit in it before anyone else could. Leaning over and dropping her voice, Julie asked, “Have you seen Flynn today? I think she might be out.”

Going over the events of his school day up to that point, Reggie tried to remember if he’d noticed Flynn. They didn’t have many classes together, but it was true that she hadn’t been at lunch and he wasn’t sure he had seen her in the courtyard.

“I think you’re right. I don’t remember seeing her at all.”

Julie gave a subtle nod, splitting her attention between Reggie and their teacher.

“She didn’t tell you?”

Sparing a quick glance at him, Julie frowned ever-so-slightly. “No, she didn’t. I just hope she isn’t sick.”

“We can stop by her house on the walk home?” Reggie offered.

“Yeah, maybe.” Julie thought for a moment, brushing her hair off her shoulders. “I wanted to tell her something, but I think I’ll wait.”

Focusing on his tone, Reggie tried to make sure he didn’t sound too curious. “What did you want to tell her?”

Julie waved a hand dismissively, but the blush on her cheeks was telling enough. He smirked to himself and when she caught sight of it, she hit him lightly on the arm with her sheet music.

Conversation over for the time being, they both tuned back into what their teacher was saying.

-

Julie and Reggie met back up outside of school, hanging around for Alex to catch up with them. Tugging lightly on his necklace, Reggie nudged Julie’s shoe with his own to get her attention. She looked up at him and nudged him back.

“So, wanna tell me what you wanted to say to Flynn?” Reggie prodded lightly.

Julie moved her gaze from him to their surroundings, scanning the area for Alex. Crossing her arms, she frowned and tilted her head in thought. “Not really.”

“Ok,” he said easily, not pushing her. Reggie didn’t exactly need Julie to fill him in. He understood well enough what she wanted to tell Flynn. It was always written on her face, the way she felt. There wasn’t a single secret feeling inside her, just some that only he and Alex had picked up on. Flynn had some special ignorance when it came to Julie’s obviousness. That, or she was pretending she didn’t know.

But Reggie figured it was the former.

The silence that had fallen between them was shattered when Julie spoke again. “You have to promise not to tell anyone what I’m about to say. Ok?”

He nodded. “I promise not to say a thing. My lips are sealed.”

“I was thinking of telling Flynn that I like her. And I was thinking of doing it when we dropped her off at her house, but then she wasn’t here.” Julie took a breath and continued. “I think I’m too chicken now. All my bravery from this morning has completely evaporated.”

“Yeah… but hey,” Reggie smiled reassuringly. “at least it’s just Flynn, right? Not like you have a crush on someone you just met.”

“Are you talking about me?” Alex appeared beside them, joining the conversation seamlessly. His smile suggested he was joking, but his tone sounded a little nervous.

“No, man. Just giving vague examples.”

But Julie didn’t let him out of the awkwardness as easily as Reggie. Flipping the focus from herself to Alex she asked, “Why? Does it apply to you?”

Alex laughed awkwardly, fiddling with his rings. He avoided her eyes as they started walking toward Flynn’s house. Sighing, he finally gave in and said, “We both know you already have the answer to your question.”

Julie shrugged, smirking over at him. “Yeah, I guess I do. When am I gonna get to meet mystery skater guy?”

“I only talked to him once! So, probably never?”

“Ok…” she readjusted her headband, pausing her thought as she did. “But if you somehow become best buds, I’ll meet him then?”

Alex shot her a look, but it quickly dissolved into a light smile. “If Willie and I become the absolute best of friends, yes, you’ll meet him then.”

“Will I?” Reggie butted in.

“Yeah, you too, Reg.”

They slowed as they neared Flynn’s house, coming to a full stop at her driveway. Alex and Reggie waited for Julie to take the first step forward before starting toward the front door. But once they were on the stoop, Reggie didn’t waste any time knocking.

One of Flynn’s dads answered the door with a broad smile. “Hey, I didn’t know we were expecting the whole brood.”

His kind laughter shook through his frame and the three of them smiled back at him.

Julie stepped forward. “Actually, we just wanted to check on Flynn. She didn’t tell me she would be absent today. Is she sick?”

“Oh, no, she’s alright. We kept her out because it was bring your kid to work day at my job and I can never resist bragging about her.”

Nodding in unison, they stood there waiting for him to let them come inside. After a moment, Flynn’s dad seemed to register what was happening and moved aside with a hearty “Come in, come in!”

Making a beeline to Flynn’s room, they all shouted a quick hello to Flynn’s other dad on their way. He waved back, clearly distracted by something on his computer as they passed him. Julie stalled in the hallway for a second and Alex placed a hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at him, offering a small smile and then they continued on.

Julie was the one to knock on Flynn’s door. Observing her movements, Reggie could tell she was still tense, but he didn’t know how to help. And then the door was opening.  
Seeing it was them, Flynn threw the door open and let them in immediately. She crowded them onto her bed, leaning against Julie. Who looked like she was seconds away from bursting into flames. Resting her head on Julie’s shoulder, Flynn gave the two boys puppy dog eyes and a slight pout. “Tell me about the outside world! I’ve been trapped all day!”

“Weren’t you just at the bakery?” Alex asked.

“Exactly! Trapped!”

“Wait! Did you get to sample things for your dad?” Reggie asked, curiosity piqued.

Flynn made a so-so gesture with one hand, her pout shifting into a subtle smirk. “A little bit… But that doesn’t change the fact that I was separated from the outside world!”

“Just because you suck at baking doesn’t mean bakeries suck.” Julie said, finally finding her words.

Playfully hitting Julie’s arm, Flynn made a shocked expression. “I do not suck at baking!”

“Uh, yeah you do.”

“Fine, then you suck at sewing!” Flynn shot back.

Julie shrugged, disrupting Flynn resting her head. “You’re right.”

“Hey! It’s no fun when you don’t fight back. This is supposed to be an argument.”

Smirking at Flynn, Julie nodded. “I know.”

A small balled up piece of paper landed in Reggie’s lap, getting his attention. He looked over at Alex and saw that he was making a gesture to let Reggie know that they should go. Nodding, Reggie spared a quick glance at the two girls. Alex stood up first and he followed suit. Neither Julie nor Flynn noticed them getting up until both of them were standing next to the bed.

“I really need to get home. You know my folks.” Alex said.

Reggie smiled, “And I should walk with him.”

Julie’s eyes flicked between the two of them, a blush quickly blooming on her cheeks. She shook her head slightly, making sure not to get Flynn’s attention. Reggie waved with a wide grin and Alex smiled warmly at her.

“Get home safe, guys!” Flynn said, oblivious to what exactly was happening.

“Yeah, stay safe,” Julie copied.

They hurried out of Flynn’s house, getting back on the sidewalk before Julie could decide to join them. Slowing to a normal pace, Alex and Reggie made their way to their respective houses.

-

Reggie got his science test back at the end of the week. He checked his grade and smiled, proud of the fact that he was able to get a ninety-four. It felt like a victory even if science was his best subject. Folding his test in half and tucking it into his backpack, Reggie let his eyes drift over to Luke. He found himself wondering how Luke had done as he sat back in his seat. He hoped he’d gotten a decent grade, otherwise their agreement would definitely be more one-sided in its effectiveness. Risking one more glance over at Luke, Reggie saw that he was already looking back at him. He straightened back up in his seat, keeping his eyes forward.

He stayed like that, not daring to look at Luke again, until the bell rang. When it did, he grabbed his stuff and hurried to the door. But as he got out into the hallway, Reggie felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked down at the hand, slowing to a stop next to one wall of the hallway.

“Hey,” Luke moved his hand once they were facing each other and Reggie sort of wished he’d left it on his shoulder. “I wanted to catch you before next period. Because we still haven’t exchanged numbers…”

It dawned on Reggie that no, they hadn’t. He hadn’t even considered the idea that Luke might want to have his number. To make planning easier. Hurrying his thoughts along, Reggie said, “We could. If you want.”

Nodding, Luke shrugged. “Sure, man. But since I have you here, I was wondering if you’re free after school today?”

“For practice?” Reggie asked.

“Yeah,” Luke replied, the second bell ringing overhead.

They were late to class and if they didn’t want to be even later, they had to get the conversation wrapped up. Reggie glanced around the hallway at the other students lagging behind. He frowned for a moment, thinking of whether or not he had anything going on after school. Pausing for a moment longer, he smiled. “I’m free, yeah. Meet you down at the track.”

“See you there, Reggie.” Luke said, backing up to head to his own class. “I’ll get your number then!”

It wasn’t until Reggie was sitting down in his next class that he thought about how he’d missed an opportunity to ask Luke about his test grade. Making a mental note to ask before practice, Reggie thought about Luke again. In fact, he couldn’t really focus on what his teacher was saying at all. Because it was becoming clearer and clearer to Reggie that maybe he didn’t just think of Luke as someone to help him train. Maybe he didn’t even think of him as a friend or acquaintance. Maybe he…

-

The sun was bright, but it was lowered a bit in the sky. It was enough to shine in Reggie’s eyes. Shielding his face from the light, he glanced around the track for Luke.

It didn’t take long for Luke to arrive, waving enthusiastically when he caught sight of Reggie. Heart crawling its way up his throat, Reggie tried to remind himself that they were training, and everything was normal. Luke was Luke and when everything was said and done, they would part ways and probably never return to one another. And that would be ok. Reggie couldn’t let his hopes get too high.

“Here, give me your phone,” Luke said, putting his hand out.

Reggie frowned briefly before he remembered their earlier conversation. Grabbing his phone, Reggie handed it over to Luke and Luke offered his own phone in return. Taking it from him, Reggie entered his number, setting the contact name as simply ‘Reggie.’

Checking Luke’s contact when he got his phone back, Reggie saw that it was under ‘Luke (Pup Boy) Patterson.’ And even though he had a few questions about the name, he didn’t ask.

Instead, Reggie asked, “How did you do on the test?”

Luke smirked over at him and Reggie felt a sudden regret. “How badly do you want to know?”

Reggie shrugged, trying to figure out where he was going with the question. Knowing Luke, it could mean he would have to run until the sun dipped below the horizon.

“Wanna race? You win, I’ll tell you my grade.”

“And if you win?” He countered.

Luke’s smirk widened and instead of regret or worry, it sent a silent thrill through Reggie. “You’ll just have to wait and see, if I win.”

He winked, walking over to the starting point on the track. Reggie’s cheeks warmed, his eyes following Luke as he moved. Turning to face him, Luke spread his arms and gestured to their surroundings. “So, do you want to race?”

Reggie didn’t say anything, opting to answer by joining Luke on the track. They settled into starting positions and Luke counted down. And then they were off.

Luke took an early lead, which didn’t surprise Reggie at all. He was the track captain after all. But it did make Reggie wonder why he had agreed without knowing what Luke would want if he won. And then Reggie pulled ahead, surprising both of them. His feet pounded against the ground and he felt powerful. He felt more capable than he had when he had first started training with Luke. And it was nice. To feel like he could do something he’d struggled with. It was nice to run.

Nearing the finish, Reggie had his victory in sight. It was so close. He pushed himself a little faster, mere moments from winning. And with only a few bounds to go, Luke passed him. He crossed the finish line, slowing to a stop and watched as Reggie crossed the line.

“Shit, Reggie! Giving me a run for my money!”

The praise made the tips of Reggie’s ears warm and he kicked at some loose pebbles. “Yeah, that was a good race. But, uh, you won… so, what do you want?”

“Oh, right!” Luke shifted on his feet, shaking his body a little as he thought. His movement was constant as he considered his answer. Stilling, he gazed at Reggie. “Let’s go out.”

Reggie choked on air. “What?”

“Yeah! Let’s hang out sometime. Just for fun, no studying or running.”

“Like, as friends?” Reggie asked, the words thick in his throat.

Luke frowned slightly, but quickly covered it with a grin. “Exactly! As friends!”

“Oh… uh, ok!” smiling back, Reggie turned over the prospect in his mind. Hanging out. With Luke. Because he wanted to spend time with Reggie without any other reason. Just the two of them.

“I’ll text you!” Luke said, backing up. He shook his phone in the air to demonstrate his point. Walking away, he spared one more glance over his shoulder at Reggie. A smirk played on his lips before he faced forward again. “Oh, and by the way, I got an eighty-six on the test.”

Reggie grinned to himself. He was proud of Luke. And maybe he was wrong about them not being friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i might take a little bit longer to post the next chapter because i want to have more written than i currently do, but it shouldn't be too too long before the next update. hope u all have a nice day and stay safe :)


	9. we all get our stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> time for their definitely not a date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok! i'm back !! also,, alex and reggie finally have canon last names !! :D

Thoughts of Luke consumed the moments before Reggie could capture sleep. Especially as the days inched closer to their plans. He grabbed at sleep and tried his best to keep his mind off Luke Patterson. It was harder than he’d imagined it would be.

Reggie’s phone chirped beside his face, yanking him from his dream and landing him back in reality. He switched off his alarm and hurried to get ready. Tripping over his feet, Reggie slipped on an outfit he hoped was decent. Not that he’d ever really thought about the clothes he wore around Luke before. He was treating it like it was a big deal. Why was he treating it like a big deal? They were hanging out. Like friends. Just friends. He didn’t need to worry about his clothes more than he usually did.

Checking over his outfit one more time, Reggie grabbed his phone and a jacket and rushed out. After all, he had someone to meet. And he didn’t want to be late.

But as soon as Reggie stepped out his front door, he saw that he didn’t need to worry about being late. Because Luke was waiting for him at the end of his driveway. Reggie stopped in his tracks, trying to process what he was seeing. He thought they would meet somewhere, and that Luke just hadn’t sent him the location yet. Not once had he considered the idea that Luke might come to pick him up.

Restarting his brain, he made his way over to Luke. The all too familiar smile already spreading across Luke’s face. Reggie grinned back.

“How did you find my house?”

“Dude, I came here to study.” Luke said with light laughter mixing in.

“And you remembered how to get here?” Reggie asked, completely baffled. He had a hard enough time finding places when he was using the internet.

Luke shot him an amused look. “Uh, should we go?”

“Oh! Right, yeah,” Reggie started, looking over his shoulder at his house before turning back to Luke. “we should.”

-

Reggie stared up at the building in front of him, a little surprised and very confused. When the plans had been made, he had thought maybe they’d go to the mall or a coffee shop. Somewhere people went to hang out. What he hadn’t been expecting was what was in front of him.

“The animal shelter?” His eyes darted back and forth between Luke and the shelter.

Walking over to the front door and holding it open for Reggie, Luke nodded. “Motivation. And also, dogs.”

A flutter kicked up in Reggie’s stomach as he looked at Luke. Because there they were. At an animal shelter. Because Luke had picked it out as the place for them to hang out. All of it seemed so entirely fictionalized. How was he the one on the receiving end of an outing like that?

“Reggie? I can’t hold this door open all day.” Once again, that smile.

“Yeah!” Reggie said, walking over to him and pausing at the door. “Let’s go in.”

Inside the shelter, everything was… loud. But from the second Reggie heard all of the noise, he was fully aware that it was a good loud. A great loud, even. Noise to be celebrated. Because he was there with Luke and they were surrounded by dogs and dogs and dogs. Maybe even one that would go home with him someday. Someday in the not so distant future?

“Hello, can I help you two with something?” The woman behind the front desk nearly got drowned out by the incessant barking. But Luke was seemingly on top of the situation.

“Hi! We were hoping to take a look around, because my friend here is thinking of adopting a dog soon.” All of his words were accompanied with a bright smile and a refined tone. His jumpy, rough edges smoothed out and he was someone a little bit different than the truth. And Reggie felt lucky. Because he didn’t get some altered version of Luke. He got the truth.

“Of course!” The front desk woman smiled back at him. “I can get someone to guide you in just a moment.”

The two of them waited for a volunteer, but it didn’t take long. And the next thing Reggie knew, they were walking through the rows of kennels.

Passing dog after dog, Reggie felt a tug of sadness amidst the love and wonder. He knew he couldn’t take all of them home with him, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to. Their tail wagging and barks filled his heart with infinite joy. And it made slight tears prick his eyes. Every single one of the dogs was so perfect.

He halted in front of one of the kennels, staring in at a rottweiler mix. Reading the paper on the front gate, he said the name aloud. “Duke.”

The volunteer was standing by one side of him while Luke was lingering by his other side. Jumping into action, the volunteer started in with information. “Duke is an absolute sweetheart! He’s been here a little longer than most of the others, but that’s only because the last family that was going to adopt him ended up moving.”

Kneeling, Reggie gripped the gate and peered in at Duke. He was big and lumbering and snoring. This giant dog that should have been imposing was dead asleep. A quiet chuckle slipped past Reggie’s lips. He loved him. He hadn’t even really met him, but he loved him.

“Can we walk him?” Reggie asked, all hope and wide eyes.

The volunteer grinned, a good-natured laugh escaping them. They nodded. “If he wants to get up, we can definitely walk with good old Duke. Maybe even stop at one of the play areas.”

Walking Duke was second nature. Reggie was used to walking dogs, but that also meant he was used to the annoying little quirks that came along with each dog. With Duke though, he was slower than most dogs Reggie walked, but it wasn’t a bother. He just went at his own pace. A gentle giant working at half speed. Something about it felt right. Like that was how all dogs were supposed to walk.

Reggie was so caught up in Duke’s existence that he almost didn’t catch the looks Luke kept giving him. They were warm and there was something under them. Something that felt familiar, but brand new all at once. And Reggie was certain he had to be imagining it.

It was just Luke being happy and excited like he usually was. That had to be it.

Leading them to the play areas, the volunteer filled them in on Duke a little more. The basics. His age, breed, experiences with different environments, etc. Everything that seemed to make him more and more perfect.

There was only one catch. Reggie still hadn’t fulfilled his father’s request. Sure, he was getting closer and closer with each practice, but he wasn’t there yet. It was a bad idea to get so attached without knowing if it would even go anywhere. No matter how much he loved Duke. He had to walk away. At least for the time being.

“Would it be ok if I came back sometimes to get to know Duke a little more? Just to see if he would make a good fit.” Reggie was working off of nothing. But if he could manage to get himself more time with Duke, that would be something.

The volunteer started to lead Duke back into his kennel. They paused for a moment, flashing Reggie a quick smile. “That would be great! As long as you come during our visiting hours, it’s no problem for us.”

Luke and Reggie left the shelter shortly after, but despite what Reggie had assumed, their outing was not over. Because as Reggie made his way to part from Luke, he was stopped. Luke smiled and took his hand in his to halt his parting trajectory. “Can we go one more place?”

Staring at their hands for a moment too long, Reggie forced himself to meet Luke’s eyes. Swallowing his heart which was lodged in his throat, he nodded. “I’d be ok with that!”

Laughing lightly, Luke smiled, and they started walking again. Reggie didn’t bother to ask any questions about where they were going. He wouldn’t have been able to ask any questions. His mind was too busy shorting out because of their still connected hands. So, instead of wasting precious brain power on questions, he focused on walking.

“You don’t have any allergies, right?” Luke asked, seemingly out-of-the-blue.

“Uh, no?” Reggie replied, apprehensive.

“Great!”

And they were back on their path. The conversation short-lived and just the slightest bit confusing.

The second location was more ordinary of a place to hang out, but somehow it felt odd after the animal shelter. Both, one after the other, didn’t feel like something people did when they went out with each other. But not in a bad way. Just… unusual. Reggie wasn’t sure he could have a bad outing when it came to Luke.

Plus, ice cream made any situation better.

Luke faced Reggie once they’d stepped into the ice cream parlor, finally pulling their hands apart. “What do you want to get? My treat.”

“You don’t have to pay for me!” Reggie said, but Luke was already waving his comment away.

“I want to,” he replied, a wink accompanying his lopsided grin. “and when I’m lucky, I get what I want.”

Rolling his eyes, Reggie smiled back and shrugged. “Superman with gummy bears?”

“Coming right up!”

Finding a table further away from the counter, they started in on their ice cream. It wasn’t much, but it tasted like comfort. Some part of his childhood that had gotten tucked away. Preserved amidst the raucous sea of arguments and ill-won fights. A little something like home.

“So, I feel like I don’t know much about you, Reggie. And I’d like to.” Luke’s expression was so open, so sincere, that it made Reggie ache. The words like the final hit to a piñata that was barely holding itself together.

He smiled instead. “What do you want to know?”

“Why do you like science?”

“I don’t know,” Reggie said, playing with the melting remnants of his ice cream. “I guess I like that it can change. It doesn’t always have to be the same. And you can make mistakes with it and that’s how you improve… There’s something nice in that.”

Luke nodded, listening intently.

Reggie’s face lit up and he hit the table a little harder than he intended. Wincing, he let out a soft “Sorry.”

“It’s ok. What were you going to say?”

“I love the stars! That’s another reason I like science.”

Luke let out a laugh, but it didn’t sound mocking. Somehow it sounded like understanding. Like everything that Reggie was saying was correct. The perfect words from someone who never knew the right thing to say.

“Stars, huh?”

Nodding energetically, Reggie leaned forward. “I know people think stars are sad because so many of the ones we see are gone, but I think that’s so limited.” He paused and looked up as if he could see the stars through the ice cream parlor’s ceiling. “Because, yeah, they’re gone, but,” his eyes met Luke’s again. “they’re not really. It’s like we can remember them for so long after they end. And that’s not sad.”

“No, I guess it’s not.” A soft wonder shined from his smile.

Feeling like he’d talked to much, Reggie pulled himself back and stared down at his ice cream. “Sorry.”

“For what?”

He shrugged in response and then pushed a smile onto his own face. “What’s something you like? Besides track and music.”

A short silence fell over them as Luke thought. He brought his attention back to Reggie after a moment, his expression clearing into something like timid amusement. “I really like plays.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I just… I like reading them in English class and seeing the structure. Actually, sometimes when I’m writing songs, I imagine what they would be like if they were part of a musical.”

The light blush that covered Luke’s cheeks made its way into Reggie’s chest, nestling beneath his ribs and finding his heart. It hammered lightly in his chest as he traced his eyes over the pink of Luke’s cheeks. He didn’t quite understand how one boy could make him feel so outside himself.

“I mean, it’s not like I write them with a story in mind, but they sort of end up following one anyway. Like, if someone read through all of my songs, there would be something there. Some sort of tale of a guy. And I guess that guy is me?” His eyes searched Reggie’s for understanding or an answer or something. But Reggie didn’t write songs and he didn’t write stories. Still, he knew what his own tale looked like and he could hear its discordant hum in his ears.

“If it’s your story, I bet it’s an interesting one.”

“I don’t know about that. I feel like I haven’t done anything yet. But, hopefully someday it’ll be an interesting story to tell.”

Reggie pushed down the heat rising inside him. He wanted an interesting story to tell. He wanted that for both of them. To be able to look back and know that they did something. Nodding slightly, he said, “We’ll get there. We’ll get our stories someday.”

Luke smiled back at him, the worry and self-consciousness erasing themselves from his face. “Yeah, we will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have a great day and stay safe !! <3


	10. strut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fashion show !!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the slight delay !! but,, here's the next chapter :)

Julie’s lunch tray landed on the table with a solid thud, startling Reggie. He looked up to find her staring back at him expectantly. Sparing a bewildered glance at Alex, he only got an equally confused shrug in return.

Clearing his throat, Alex leaned forward ever-so-slightly. “You ok?”

Suddenly acting shy with her words, Julie played with the food on her tray. Pushing some peas around, she looked up at the two of them and gave an unconvincing, “Yeah.”

“What’s going on with you and Flynn?” Alex prodded gently, not wanting to pry.

Reggie jumped onboard, following Alex’s example. With a soft tone, he added, “Yeah, you haven’t mentioned her as much.”

“Of course I’ve mentioned her, she’s my best friend!” Julie retorted.

“Rude!” Alex teased, trying to lift the mood, as Reggie let out a faux wounded, “Ouch!”

Their responses tugged a small smile onto her lips. “As if you two numbskulls aren’t my best friends, too.”

Alex and Reggie let the conversation lapse for a moment before Alex tried again.

“No, but Jules, what happened after we left Flynn’s house? Did she…?”

Avoiding their eyes, Julie mumbled, “She was fine. Because nothing happened. I… I didn’t tell her.”

“That’s ok!” Reggie quickly reassured her. “You should take your time.”

“I know,” Julie started, playing with her food again. Sighing deeply, she shrugged and looked at them. “but I wanted to do it then. I thought I was ready. And she’s… Flynn. Y’know? But when I tried, I just couldn’t.”

Alex rubbed light circles on her back, and she offered him a weak smile. And at that moment, it dawned on Reggie that he didn’t know where Flynn was. He couldn’t remember seeing her at any point during the day and he was pretty sure her dads hadn’t kept her out for another take your kid to work day.

“Julie?” He asked, tentatively.

“Hmm?”

“Where is Flynn?”

“Oh,” Julie pulled away from Alex and dug around in her backpack. Setting one of her binders on the table, she flipped it open and handed a flyer to Reggie. It was for a school-sanctioned fashion show. “the clothes she needed from us, were for this. It’s going on all day today. I was going to ask my dad to let me go, but then Ms. Oberlin assigned a test today. So, it was a no-go.”

Reggie stared down at the flyer for a moment, his attention taken away from it only when Alex started talking.

“Will it still be going on after school?” A slight smirk played on his lips.

Nodding, Julie slid the flyer from Reggie to Alex.

“We’re going. All of us.”

-

Huddled in a circle at the far side of the building, the three of them spared hurried glances at the makeshift runway. The fashion show was indeed still going on, and it seemed that Flynn still had pieces to be shown. Racks of clothes sat, temporarily unattended, near the stage.

Not giving them any time to stop, Alex grabbed Reggie and Julie’s hands, pulling them over to the clothes. He started sifting through the hangers and checking tags.

“What are we doing?” Julie asked, looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was going to bust them.

Without looking up from the clothes, Alex asked her, “What size are you?”

Surprise covered her face for a second as her focus narrowed to only Alex. “Oh no! No, no, no… I cannot walk a runway!”

“Julie, it’ll be fine. They’re all student models anyway.”

“Yeah! They’re amateurs, just like you.” Reggie said, jumping into the conversation.

Alex shot him a glance before returning to the clothes. “Not helping, Reggie.”

Julie sighed, told Alex her size, and when he pulled an outfit off the racks, she didn’t turn it down. Slipping away, it was just Reggie and Alex.

“What exactly is the plan?” Reggie asked.

Alex shrugged slightly. “That’s up to her.”

Julie emerged a few moments later in the outfit Alex had picked for her and she smiled nervously in their direction. Reggie gave her an encouraging thumbs up as she walked up to the backstage area. She was officially out of eyesight, somewhere with the other models and designers.

Finding a better position to see the stage, the guys waited for Julie to walk onto the runway. A few students strutted up and down the length of the runway. But before long, it was Julie’s turn.

She took a step onto the stage, the light finding her, and paused. Turning back to the hidden backstage, Reggie leaned into Alex. He didn’t want this to be too much for her. Seconds away from asking Alex if they should do something, Reggie stopped himself. Julie appeared back on the stage; her hand linked with Flynn’s. The two girls made their way down the runway and Julie lifted their interlocked hands before they turned around. Going back up, Julie leaned toward Flynn and whispered something in her ear. Flynn looked at her, eyes wide, and then the two of them disappeared backstage.

Reggie took off to the side of the stage to wait for them. Alex followed slowly behind him, both of them equally anticipatory.

The girls descended the steps from the backstage area, their hands still linked. Wide grins were plastered on both of their faces as they reached Alex and Reggie. Sharing a shy kind of excitement, Julie looked over at Flynn. With a nod from Flynn, she took a quick breath.

“Guess who has a girlfriend!”

Reggie lifted his hand for a high five and both Julie and Flynn obliged. When they’d finished that, Alex gave Julie a big hug and she mumbled out a muffled, “Thanks.”

But as they celebrated Julie and Flynn, Reggie glanced at his phone and was struck with an unfortunate realization. “I have to go! Sorry, guys! But, I just… yeah, I have to go…”

“Wait!” Flynn hurried backstage and when she reappeared, she was holding her backpack. She pulled a guitar strap out. And even though Reggie was almost positive he’d never seen it before, it looked familiar to him somehow. “I finished this.”

Turning it over in his hands, it clicked. “Is this my shirt?”

“I mean, not just your shirt. I had to use other stuff to make it sturdy enough to work as a guitar strap, but yeah. It is.” She smiled at him as she spoke.

Wrapping Flynn in a hug, he said a quiet, “Thank you.” She nodded as he pulled away, sliding the strap into his own backpack. Raising a hand to let them know he was going, he started to make his way out.

Leaving to a chorus of goodbyes, Reggie made a call.

“Hey, where are you?”

“I’m so sorry, Luke! I’m on my way, just kind of totally forgot we had a session today.”

“Wow, am I really that forgettable?” Luke asked, his voice light and good-natured.

“No! Not at all.”

“Relax, man. There’s no need to worry. I’ll just wait here for you.”

“Ok, yeah… ok, see you soon?”

“See you soon.”

Counting on his previous training, Reggie ran down sidewalks to get back to the school. He made decent timing as he rounded a final corner and spotted the track. And sure enough, Luke was waiting on the bleachers for him. His heart surged into his throat as he got closer to Luke, but he managed to fake normalcy as he stopped in front of him.

“Hey.”

Luke looked up at him, a soft smile already visible. “Reggie!”

Sitting down next to him on the bleachers, Reggie took a couple deep breaths. He trained his eyes on the track and tried to settle his heart. It was getting increasingly harder to pretend he was fine when he was with Luke. It was getting harder to pretend he didn’t feel the way he did.

“You good, man?”

Reggie nodded. “I ran to get here, but it wasn’t so bad. I actually don’t really feel out of breath.”

“That’s good!” Luke stopped for a moment, looking over at Reggie. “But we could always reschedule training for today. If you wanted.”

“Oh.”

“It’s up to you. We could always just hang out today instead.”

Reggie’s head whipped up, his eyes landing on Luke. He let out another “Oh.” Smaller than the first. Then a quick smile formed on his face. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Ok, cool.”

Standing, Luke offered Reggie his hand. And even though he didn’t need help getting up from the bleachers, Reggie took it anyway. But once he was on his feet, Luke let go.

Walking along sidewalks, Reggie tried to think of somewhere for them to go. But nothing was coming to mind. Deep in thought, he didn’t realize that Luke was trying to get his attention until his hand was on Reggie’s arm. Pausing, Reggie looked at Luke’s hand and then at Luke.

“So, I was thinking about our conversation from a few days ago and… I’m saving up to buy myself an electric guitar.” Luke seemed tentative. Smaller than usual.

Reggie grinned. “Really? That’s amazing!”

“You think so?”

“Definitely! We could play together and everything!” The second sentence slipped out before he could stop himself, but Reggie didn’t necessarily regret saying it.

Luke beamed, the lopsided smile making its grand return, and he started walking again. Trailing behind, Reggie watched the ground for cracks. They could play together. They could stay in each other’s lives after training was done. Maybe. Hopefully.

-

The following two weeks passed with increasingly frequent training sessions and some training sessions that turned into the two of them just hanging out. Luke came over to Reggie’s house a couple more times to study. And Reggie went to visit Duke, with and without Luke’s company. Halfway through the second week, Alex told Reggie that he’d run into Willie again. It was a little bit of a surprise when Reggie realized that meant Alex had talked to Willie without any help.

Hanging out at Julie’s house, Reggie thought of how close the race was getting. How little time he had guaranteed left with Luke. But every step closer to the end, was a step closer to taking Duke home with him. So, the worry was worth it.

“Hey, guys?” Reggie started, waiting for one of them to look over at him.

“Yeah, Reg?” Julie asked.

“Would it be ok if I invited Luke to come hang out with us when we go to the skatepark?”

Flynn smiled, trying to lean forward to poke him, but she couldn’t reach him with Julie’s legs on her lap. Giving up, she said, “That’s fine, dude. As long as he doesn’t stand in front of me. Because I make no promise when it comes to not running people over.”

“Actually, could I invite Willie, too?” Alex cut in; a nervous hope painted across his features.

“I get to meet THE willie?” Julie asked, incredulous.

Alex nodded and she grinned. “Then, yes!”

“Cool,” Alex smiled.

“Yeah…” Reggie said. “Cool!”

“It’s a triple date!” Flynn exclaimed, teasingly.

“What? No!” Alex sputtered, flustered. At the same time as Reggie rushed out, “No way! We’re just friends!”

Flynn smirked, nodding her head slightly. “Ok, sure. A double… ‘friend’ date. And then Julie and I.”

As satisfied as they hope to be with Flynn’s reply, Alex and Reggie turned their attention back to the movie playing on Julie’s tv. The four of them crammed together as a random coming of age movie played out in front of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stay safe and have a great day !! <3


	11. red and blue, me and you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a group excursion to the skate park

Scuffing his shoes against the ground, Reggie wondered if he was about to get himself stuck in an awkward situation. Because sure, they’d hung out one-on-one, but whenever he’d offered for Luke to hang out with him and his friends it had always been a someday. A maybe. Never a guaranteed thing. But Reggie wanted to ask. He sucked in a breath, blowing it back out in thought. At some point he had to learn to trust Luke wanted to hang out with him. And maybe that point could be right then and there.

Biting the bullet, Reggie started to talk. “So, Luke…”

Luke stopped putting his stuff back in his backpack from their run and study session. His gaze settled on Reggie and he waited for him to continue.

“I was wondering if you would want to hang out with me and my friends tomorrow? We’re going to a skatepark.” The words came out in a flurry and as they fell into the air, Luke’s expression got even brighter than it had been. It seemed almost impossible how excited he looked.

“Really, dude?” He asked, but he didn’t wait for Reggie to answer. “I’d love to!”

Relief and excitement crashed over Reggie and his own smile widened. “Great! See you tomorrow then!”

“Can’t wait,” Luke replied, pulling his backpack on.

They parted ways and Reggie started down the sidewalk to his home. There was something exhilarating in the prospect of introducing Luke to his friends. Something intimidating too. Something almost permanent.

-

Reggie and Alex met up with Flynn and Julie at the Molina residence so they could head to the skatepark together. Flynn’s roller-skates were tied together by the laces and resting on her shoulder. And though Reggie knew he shouldn’t, he couldn’t help but reach out and spin the wheels. He followed their movements with his eyes and waited for Julie and Alex to be ready to go.

Calling out from her room, Julie asked, “Are your boyfriends coming?”

“Again, Willie is not my boyfriend!” Alex shouted back. And even though Julie couldn’t see him, Reggie nodded in agreement. Luke and he were just friends. There was no way they would ever be more. And that was ok. He was happy just to have Luke as a friend.

“Ok then, are your not boyfriends coming?” Julie amended, a hint of teasing still tainting her words.

“Luke’s meeting us there,” Reggie said as Alex said, “Willie already had plans to go to the skatepark, so, yeah.”

Julie poked her head out from her room and showed Flynn and Reggie two different pairs of overalls. Raising one and then the other, she waited for a response. Flynn pointed at the black pair while Reggie pointed at the multicolored pair. Shaking her head, Julie disappeared back inside. A moment later, she popped out dressed in the black overalls, but she’d picked out a colorful jacket.

Finishing up a short bit after, Alex joined them at the stairs, and they all left for the skatepark.

Tugging on his necklace as they walked, Reggie let his mind wander. Subtle thoughts circled around in his head, but they weren’t loud. Everything was muffled by his excitement.

Flynn slipped her arm through his and he brought himself back to the four of them. Smiling up at Reggie, Flynn bumped him lightly and they swayed a little as they moved along the sidewalk. She leaned in and lowered her voice, “It’ll be nice to meet Luke. Officially.” Her tone turned a bit teasing as she added, “Though, I feel like I already know him.”

Blushing, Reggie smiled wider. It didn’t matter that she was teasing him, because she wanted to meet Luke. She wanted to meet Luke because of him. “I hope you like him.”

“I will,” Flynn grinned. “You like him. So, of course I will.”

When they got to the skatepark, Alex’s whole demeanor switched on a dime. He seemed suddenly warmer. And when Reggie looked around, he spotted Willie standing with a few other people. Splitting from Flynn, he made his way over to Alex and nudged him forward slightly. Alex held his ground, but when he looked at Reggie, he had a soft smile on his face.

It didn’t take Willie long to notice them and he gave a broad wave. Waving back, Reggie gestured him over as Alex raised his hand in a small wave. Julie’s smile widened when she saw Willie and she hurried over to the three of them.

“Hi! You’re Willie, right? I’m Julie.”

A flicker of confusion passed over Willie’s face, but it was quickly replaced by a smile as he glanced at Alex. “Yeah, I’m Willie. It’s great to meet you Julie!”

Reggie had the sudden urge to introduce himself again, but then he remembered that they’d already met before. So, instead, he joined Flynn as she finished tying up her roller-skates. But she was done not long after he sat with her.

Standing, Flynn looked over at him. “Do you want to walk with me while I skate?”

“No, I’m ok. Be careful though!”

Flynn skated off and Reggie spread out on the bench, lying down. He let Willie and Julie’s conversation cover him as he stared up at the sky. And the longer he listened, the clearer it became that Alex was basically a third wheel to the guy he liked and Julie. An easy laugh bubbled out of Reggie and he let his eyes drift shut against the bright blue of the midday sky.

“Hey, is there any room for me?”

Blinking at the sunlight that had grown all too bright, Reggie saw Luke standing next to the bench. He sat up, shifting to give Luke a place to sit. “Yeah! Always!”

Luke sat down next to Reggie, watching the random people roller-skating and skateboarding. Reggie copied him, looking out at the skaters as well. He searched the sea of people for Flynn, recognizing her fluid movements in the middle of everyone. Lifting his hand, he leaned toward Luke and pointed over at her. “That’s my friend, Flynn.”

“Oh man, she’s really good at that!” His eyes followed her through the clusters of people and Reggie had to force himself to look away from Luke. The blush that had begun to warm his cheeks only grew the longer he looked at him. Reggie’s stomach flipped over. It was getting harder and harder for him to pretend he didn’t feel the way he did. Harder to disguise what he felt.

“So, do you want to meet my friends?” Reggie asked, changing his focus.

Nodding, Luke pushed himself off the bench and offered his hand to Reggie. And though Reggie wanted to take it, he didn’t. Instead he smiled and got up on his own.

Reggie led the way over to Alex, Willie, and Julie, trying not to pay attention to how close they were as they walked. Trying not to pay attention to how easy it would be to take Luke’s hand in his.

Julie noticed them first as they walked up, giving them a small smile. But Alex was too enraptured by Willie’s existence to realize Luke and Reggie were joining them until they were standing right beside them. Opening his mouth to introduce Luke to the others, Reggie wasn’t able to get a word out as Luke started up. “Willie!” He clapped Willie on the shoulder and then turned to Reggie. “I didn’t know that you were friends with Willie.”

Sharing a look with Alex, Reggie shrugged. “We actually don’t know each other that well. But how do you know Willie?”

“From here.”

“You skate?” Reggie asked, incredulous.

“No!” Luke laughed lightly. “I come here sometimes with my acoustic because my mom doesn’t like when I play in the house. And Willie’s here pretty much all the time, so we just kind of, became friends?”

Willie nodded in agreement. “Exactly! A matter of circumstance.”

Reggie listened to them explaining how they met, still not quite able to process the coincidence that was the overlap between him and Alex’s… not boyfriends. As they talked, Flynn popped up at Julie’s side, her skates still on. She held onto Julie to help keep herself balanced and when she saw Reggie looking at her, she stuck her tongue out. He did the same back out of habit and then remembered Luke was right next to him. Glancing over at Luke, he saw that he was already smiling at him. Reggie focused on Flynn again, but her expression had already shifted, one eyebrow raised. He fixed her with a look, watching as she whispered in Julie’s ear. Julie’s eyes flitted between Luke and Reggie and she smirked, nodding ever-so-slightly. He decided to stop paying attention to them, focusing on the cracks in the concrete. A few blades of grass poked up from between and he couldn’t stop himself from bending over and plucking a few of them.

Squatting next to him, Luke found the one wildflower among the grass and picked it, spinning it between his fingers. He offered it to Reggie, a timid smile tugging at his lips. Reggie took it, stroking the little white petals.

“Reggie?” Alex’s voice broke through and Reggie straightened up quickly.

“Yeah?”

“Do you have a picture of Duke?”

Reggie nodded excitedly and pulled his phone out, scrolling through to find a picture. He settled on the first one he could find. A photo of Duke with a toy in his mouth, his head tilted to the side. Passing his phone to Alex, Willie moved closer to Alex to see.

-

They hung out an hour longer, topics changing and coming back around if they recalled something they wanted to add. But after a while, it was clear that they needed to head home. Especially Reggie.

Letting the others know, Reggie backed away from the group with a warm goodbye. He’d made it to the sidewalk when he heard his name. Looking over his shoulder, Reggie saw that Luke was following after him. He stopped where he was, waiting for him to catch up to him.

“Do you want some company back to your house?”

A grin broke across Reggie’s face and he shrugged. “If it’s not a hassle.”

“Not even a little bit.”

His heart fluttered against his rib cage and he plunged his hands into his pockets to keep himself from doing anything rash. “Cool!”

They walked side-by-side, close enough to accidentally brush arms every now and again. Reggie thought about putting some more space between them to make it better for Luke, but he didn’t want to. And if Luke wanted room, Reggie figured he could move over a little bit. He didn’t though. He didn’t take so much as a step away from Reggie.

“So, I’m getting pretty close to being able to afford an electric guitar and I was looking at two different ones. And uh…” Luke stared down at his feet as he talked, more bashful than Reggie had ever seen. “I was thinking maybe you could help me choose?”

“I’d love to help! Which ones are you thinking of?”

“Well, there’s this one. It’s such a nice blue and it’s a little cheaper.” He showed Reggie a picture of the guitar.

Reggie looked it over. There was something about it that felt like Luke. It didn’t make sense, but it looked right. “And the other one?”

“It’s a really bright red and I think it’s kinda better quality? I don’t know. It was hard to tell.” Luke gave him a second to examine the second picture. “What do you think?”

“I think you should go for the first one.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, definitely.”

That familiar lopsided grin appeared on Luke’s face and Reggie realized he hadn’t seen it when they’d been with the others. He knocked his shoulder against Reggie’s. “Thanks, man.”

The longer they walked and the closer they got to Reggie’s house, the two of them seemed to slow their pace. Drawing out their time together, Reggie could feel his self-control breaking down. He forced his hands deeper into his pockets, speeding up just a little.

Standing at the base of his driveway, Reggie paused to stand with Luke a moment longer. “See you at school?”

“See you at school.” Luke raised his hand for a high five and when their hands connected, Luke grasped his for just a moment, giving it a slight shake. They lingered like that and then Luke pulled his hand away, not making eye contact with Reggie. “Well, I should…”

Reggie nodded and backed up his driveway. “Yeah, me too. Bye!”

“Bye, spaghetti.”

Sitting on his front stoop, Reggie watched Luke’s silhouette fade as he walked away. His ears rang with nerves and he let out a deep breath.

Once Luke had fully disappeared from his view, Reggie got up and walked inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have a great day and stay safe :)


	12. starlit eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> band practice w a guest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't remember if i said merry christmas in the notes for the last chapter, so, in risk of repeating myself, belated merry christmas !! we're starting to get close to the end of this whole thing and i hope ur all still enjoying :)

Running up to them in the courtyard, everything about Alex seemed filled with electricity. He was pure untapped energy as he hopped from foot to foot in front of Reggie, Julie, and Flynn. The three of them shared confused glances, waiting for Alex to say something. Anything to clear up the situation.

“He took me out! On a date!” The words rushed out of Alex and he grinned once he was done.

Flynn was the first to jump into action, pulling Alex to her in a big hug. The two of them twisted side-to-side slightly and when she backed away from him, Flynn punched him lightly on the arm. “That’s so amazing!”

“Where did you guys go?” Julie asked, sidling up to Flynn and Alex.

Without wasting any time, Reggie moved closer to the other three, resting his head on Alex’s shoulder.

“We went to a museum and he’s just so…” Alex trailed off, but his grin only grew.

Reggie listened to Alex, but his mind was split in two. Half was there, in the moment. And the other half was focusing too heavily on the word date and how badly he wanted to apply that to some of his outings with Luke. It was becoming abundantly clear to him that he wanted something from Luke that he knew he couldn’t have. Still, knowing he couldn’t have it didn’t change anything about how he felt. Feelings were rarely rational.

Clapping Alex on the arm, Reggie smiled back at him. “So happy for you, man!”

The bell rang overhead, ending the conversation. As they started toward their respective classes, Julie called back to them. “My house after school!”

And once she was sure they’d heard her, she and Flynn walked off, hand-in-hand.

-

The day was average. Classes came and went without anything to note. Just homework and lessons and boredom. So, by the time lunch rolled around, it had already felt like an eternity had passed.

What wasn’t average was Luke sitting down at their lunch table. The four of them looked between each other in surprise, unsure what to make of the sudden appearance. Reggie fought for any thought that could help him, but his mind was a riddle in its own right. Tangled and twisted and utterly confused.

Thankfully, Luke spoke first. “Can I come over to your place, Julie? Like, whenever all of you guys go over there.”

Julie’s response was “Yeah!” while Flynn’s was a more hesitant “Why?”

Reggie couldn’t blame her hesitation. They were all still getting used to Luke sometimes being around. He was good and kind and charming, but Flynn and Alex tended to air on the side of caution no matter who the person was. Reggie was just glad Julie liked him already.

“I…” Luke cut himself off with a nervous laugh. “I was hoping I could play some music with you guys. Reggie said that you have a studio and sometimes you practice together.”

“Wait! Did you get the guitar?” Reggie asked, twisting in his seat to face Luke.

“Yeah…” Luke picked at some imaginary spot on the table, but his voice betrayed his excitement.

Reggie kicked out at him, connecting lightly with his leg. “So cool!”

Julie leaned forward a little, a bright smile present. “You can come over tonight! We were already planning on hanging at my house. And you know what they say, the more the merrier.”

“Yeah,” Flynn nodded along with her words. “I, for one, wanna see your guitar.”

Reggie looked over at Alex to see how he felt about the addition, but he realized that Alex was staring at his phone. “Alex?”

“Hmm?” He looked up, his attention pulled to the conversation at the sound of his name.

“You cool with Luke hanging with us later?”

“Oh, yeah. Sounds good to me.”

Luke grinned at them, looking over at Reggie last. Dropping a protein bar in front of Reggie, Luke pushed himself up from the table and wandered off toward his usual lunch table. 

“I’ll walk with you!” Luke called as he walked away, pointing at Reggie.

Reggie didn’t say anything back, didn’t feel it was necessary. He knew Luke would be there. And he knew he would wait for Luke any day.

-

Digging through his backpack, Reggie heard his phone chirp from somewhere on his bed. Abandoning his bag in favor of his phone, he saw that Luke had texted him. He was already waiting outside his house. Reggie gave up on his previous search, shutting his backpack and taking it with him. He grabbed his guitar before hurrying out to meet Luke.

“Hey!” Reggie said, calming his heart.

“Hey, man!”

They started walking, Reggie leading the way to Julie’s house. He could hear his footsteps against the sidewalk. Feel his heart picking up its pace all over again. Clearing his throat, he spared a quick glance in Luke’s direction.

“So, is that your guitar?” It was an easy question with an obvious answer, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Sometimes with Luke he had all the words in the world. Other times he only had one sentence he could catch. Unfortunately, he was trapped in the latter.

Luke swung the guitar case a little bit, smiling to himself. “Yeah…”

“Cool,” Reggie focused on the sound of his footsteps again. Watching the sidewalk, looking out for any lizards or bugs, he was too aware of everything. Of Luke.

“Do you want to see it?” Excitement coated Luke’s question and Reggie smiled before he even turned to him.

“Right now?”

Luke nodded, energetically.

“Then, yeah!”

Stopping in his tracks, Luke knelt on the concrete and set the guitar case down. He opened it up and, with delicate movements, extracted the guitar from inside. The blue reflected the fading sunlight and Reggie stared at where his silhouette blocked it out entirely.

Resting in Luke’s grip, the guitar fit. The same thought crossed his mind that somehow the guitar felt like an extension of Luke. They were a matching set.

Smiling softly at Luke, Reggie said, “It’s perfect.”

Luke’s open expression became a little more secret, like it was meant for the two of them. Like it would have been completely different had a third person been present. He gazed down at the guitar in his hands and nodded slightly to himself before placing it back inside the case. Standing up, he threw an arm around Reggie’s shoulders and pulled him in for a quick hug. Luke patted him on the back as they hugged, and Reggie felt the gesture echo throughout his whole body. It lasted mere seconds and then they were walking again, as if nothing had happened. But Reggie was still left reeling. He was a fish out of water, looking for any sense of survival. And then he was back. Or back enough to function, at least.

But Luke’s arm was still resting on his shoulders, the two of the connected as they walked the rest of the way. And Reggie was convinced his heart was audible all the way in New York.

-

Getting to Julie’s house, Reggie guided Luke around to the studio and as they entered, Alex greeted the two with a soft smile.

Something fell over to the side of them and when Reggie looked, he saw Julie and Flynn picking up a box. Another one sat next to Flynn, and when they’d righted everything, the girls stood up. Flynn struggled to lift her box and Luke jumped into action before either Alex or Reggie had any chance. He picked the box up and followed her and Julie’s instructions on where to put it.

“Wow, ok, what’s in that?” Luke asked once he had put the box in place.

Setting her own box down, Julie opened up the other one and showed them the amp that was inside. “I realized that we didn’t have one for you and… I really underestimated how heavy these things are.”

“No kidding!” Flynn exclaimed, lying on the ground. “That thing could’ve killed me!”

Julie nudged her with her shoe and laughed lightly. “I wouldn’t have let it kill you.” Pulling a few things from her box, Julie plugged the amp into the wall. Then she turned to Luke and held a chord out to him. “Here you go!”

He took it from her, letting the chord fall across the top of his guitar case. Reggie stepped up to him and knelt by the guitar. “Do you need any help?”

“I don’t think so?” Luke replied, uncertain.

Watching as Luke pulled the guitar from the case for the second time that day, Reggie sat back. And in that moment, Flynn seemed to develop a sixth sense specifically for guitars, because she was suddenly at his side. “Is this your new guitar?”

Luke nodded, holding it out a little to show her. His smile was brighter as he let Flynn examine the guitar.

“Can I touch it?”

“Of course, dude!”

Flynn reached out with tentative hands and let her fingers lightly graze the blue surface. She plucked one of the strings and scrunched up her face at the tinny sound. And even though Reggie was trying to focus on Flynn, he kept looking over at Luke’s face. His excited, beautiful face. It was almost too much to bear.

“It’s really pretty, Luke!” Flynn said when she was done.

“Thanks, Flynnigan!”

At Luke’s reply, Flynn shot a look at Reggie, her eyes narrowing at the nickname. He put his hands up and smiled slightly back at her. Mouthing a silent “sorry” Reggie waited for Flynn to say something. She shook her head slightly but didn’t say anything more.

Reggie left the two as Luke plugged his guitar into the amp. He had his own guitar to get ready.

-

They started up shakily. It was unfamiliar territory, playing together. Alex’s drumming carried them forward and as the song continued, they fell into it. The melody patched itself together and Julie began to sing. Every part of the practice began to resemble something normal, something comfortable. And then Reggie would look over at Luke and feel thrown off-kilter. He kept on the beat, but his heart was completely off of it.

And just as he adjusted, Julie nodded to Luke. It didn’t register what that meant at first and then Luke started to sing the second verse. Reggie was almost positive his heart fell onto the floor in that moment.

His fingers played across the strings of his bass, but his mind was shutting off and his heart was flopping on the ground. Luke could sing. Really sing.

But as he started up, the makeshift guitar strap Luke was using fell apart on him. They paused and he smiled apologetically at them. Reggie laughed lightly and Luke’s smile grew more careless, as if the nervousness that had dwelled inside it was suddenly gone.

A thought struck Reggie as he watched Luke fumble with his guitar. Hurrying over to his backpack, he found the guitar strap Flynn had made him and made his way over to Luke.

“Here,” Reggie offered it to him, the solar system shining lightly in the sunlight from the studio window. “you can use this.”

“Are you sure?” But Luke was already taking it from Reggie.

He got everything in order, and they took their places once more. Picking up where they left off, Luke began singing again.

Julie’s face was brightened by a broad smile and when Reggie turned his attention to Flynn, he saw a similar expression there too. Behind him, Alex was too caught up in his playing to notice Reggie. Luke, on the other hand, was only noticing Reggie it seemed. He motioned him over and Reggie moved towards him with slight hesitation.

Luke placed a hand on Reggie’s face once he was close enough, patting his cheek lightly. But it was back on his guitar in an instant. And once again, Reggie was sent reeling.

He stayed by Luke, the two of them playing, finding each other in the melody.

As the song wound down, Reggie took his place back where he had been. There was no doubt in his mind that if he stayed next to Luke for too long, he would forget how to play bass.

-

A few songs later, they wound down and crowded together on the couch. Flynn’s legs stretched across Julie and Reggie’s laps and he kept playing with her laces. She swatted halfheartedly at him, but Reggie didn’t bother stopping.

“Do any of you guys wanna go get some food?” Julie asked.

“Ray’s not making anything?” Reggie asked back.

Julie shrugged slightly. “I’m pretty sure he was gonna heat up some leftovers, but I don’t know.”

“I can’t go with you, I already have plans for food.” Alex interjected.

“Willie?” Julie asked hopefully while Flynn asked, “Your folks?”

Alex nodded, pointing at Flynn as he got up. “Unfortunately.” Pulling on his jacket, he checked the time on his phone and headed for the studio doors. “See you tomorrow! Oh, and it was fun playing with you, Luke.”

“You too, man!”

Once Alex was gone, Julie turned her focus on the others, her unanswered question still floating in the air. “So…?”

“I’m in.” Flynn said, lacing her fingers through Julie’s.

“It’s not like I have anywhere better to go.”

Julie looked over at Luke for his input. “Luke? You wanna tag along?”

“Oh,” Luke started. He tugged gently at a blue rabbit’s foot that hung at his side, his eyes briefly meeting Reggie’s. “I mean, yeah, that sounds good.”

The four set off for a nearby pizza place, sliding into the first empty booth they could find. Flynn took up the space next to Reggie with Julie and Luke across from them, respectively. And as Flynn and Julie held hands across the table, Reggie’s eyes kept darting over to Luke. Once again, they were in a date-like environment. But they still weren’t on a date.

“Hey, Luke?” Flynn asked, a smirk spreading across her face.

He looked up at her. “Yeah?”

“Do you have something against sleeves?” she let out a small gasp and leaned in. “Did they kill your family?”

Luke’s hand went to where a sleeve would be if he wasn’t wearing a tank top and he frowned. “Yeah, a whole group of sleeves. I was the only one they left alive.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Flynn replied, but her smirk grew as she spoke.

“Thank you.”

Julie changed the topic, curiosity infecting her words. “You write songs, right?”

He nodded and Reggie watched the slow dip of his head. He was tempted to say that they were Luke’s story, but he didn’t know if Luke wanted that to be common knowledge.

“I’d love to hear them sometime, if that’s cool with you. I could play some of mine for you too.”

“That would be really cool. I’m never able to play them for people, aside from playing with Nick occasionally. But he doesn’t write music, so it’d be nice to get input from someone who does.”

“Great! Well, I’m sure Reggie can keep you filled in on when we’re practicing. You’re always welcome to join.”

The tips of Reggie’s ears burned. He knew how Julie meant it. He knew she was already assuming he would want to invite Luke over again. He knew she was right. The only thing that kept Reggie’s face from going full tomato was that he was fairly certain Luke hadn’t picked up on Julie’s intentions. It wasn’t like she was being obvious. It sounded harmless enough.

Luke grinned. “I can’t wait.”

-

The stars hung in the sky as Luke and Reggie walked back to Luke’s house. For some reason, the moment felt bigger than it was. Because, even though Reggie wouldn’t be going inside, he was walking Luke home for the first time when it always seemed to be the other way around. And it was hard to quell his pride in the matter.

Stopping a few feet from his front door, it was easy to see the lights were all turned off inside. Luke faced Reggie with a smile that could stop time. “I had a great time today. Thanks for letting me come along.”

“You can come along with me anywhere,” Reggie said, his voice suddenly small.

“Y’know, I’m really glad we walked into each other in the cafeteria.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Luke’s eyes were soft, the stars reflected in them and Reggie could feel himself falling faster, faster, faster. The two boys stood there for a moment. Close, but not too close. Far, but not nearly far enough to make sense.

“Reggie?” he pushed the name out, his smile gone, nerves replacing it.

“Yeah?” Reggie asked, stomping out his own nerves.

A pause. And then Luke cleared his throat, straightening up. He shook his head lightly as if shaking away a thought. “I still have your guitar strap. Let me just-”

Reggie cut him off, smiling lightly despite how his heart hammered in his chest. “No, you should hang onto it, for… uh, next time.”

He kept the hope out of his voice, the question out of his words. Which actually meant that his voice was only hope. The sentence was all question. But Luke didn’t seem to mind. Instead he looked pleased. And that was something more than Reggie had expected after the odd pause.

“You sure?”

“One hundred percent.”

“Ok,” Luke nodded once. “ok, thanks.”

They lingered a moment longer and then Luke took a step backwards.

“Night, Luke.”

“Night, spaghetti. See you for our last session.”

“Right,” Reggie said, finally turning away.

As he walked away, he thought of Luke’s star-filled eyes. He was dancing around something soul crushing. But Reggie didn’t want to stop. He just wanted something good to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u for reading !! have a great day and stay safe <3


	13. spaghetti and starlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> marathon time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy new year everybody !! hope 2021 treats u all better than 2020 :) also,, i do not know how to write a marathon,,

There were more nerves firing inside of Reggie than he’d expected for his last training session. Nothing was different. No big changes. Just a sense of finality. Because after he and Luke finished with practice, there was no buffer left between Reggie and the marathon. After they finished, it was all up to him.

Shaking his hands out to get rid of some of the nervous energy, Reggie leaned over. He tightened his laces, sending a sideways glance at Luke. The midafternoon sunlight played off his hair, giving him something like a halo. Reggie refocused on his shoes before Luke could catch him looking. And when he finished with his laces, he stood up and stared at the track. It was so much less imposing than it had been when he’d started out. He actually felt capable.

He felt like maybe he finally understood what Luke meant about him being secretly good at things.

“Ready?” Luke asked him. For the last time. It would be the last time Reggie would hear that question in that context. It kept sinking in.

“Yeah, and this time I’m gonna win.”

“Oh, really?” He laughed lightly, grinning over at Reggie. “I'm looking forward to it.”

“Me too.”

The two got into position, readying themselves for the race. And then they were off. Human bullets, cutting through the air to reach their destination. Reggie listened to the steady pulse of his shoes hitting the ground. He could do it. He could do this one thing.

Pushing himself a little bit harder, Reggie smiled. Running felt like control. It was him relying on himself. It was him trusting himself.

The end was approaching, and Reggie felt his pulse pick up. He was so close. Running the final stretch, he hit the finish and skidded to a stop. Turning around, he nearly ran into Luke as he crossed the finish. He had actually done it. He had actually won their race.

“Reggie! Dude!” Luke clapped him on the back. “That was great!”

“Yeah?” Reggie asked, but he knew Luke was right. It was great.

“Yeah!”

Walking over to their stuff, Luke started getting his things sorted.

Reggie cleared his throat. He could do one more thing. “Luke, I was wondering if you’d want to maybe…”

“Maybe what?” Luke asked, waiting. He looked confused. Expectant even. But then his phone buzzed. Checking it, he frowned slightly at Reggie. “Sorry, man. I have to go. My mom needs my help with something, and I really can’t be late. Talk later?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Reggie forced a smile. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

Luke hurried off and Reggie swallowed the words that were lodged in his throat. Maybe he couldn’t do one more thing after all.

-

“Reggie?” Julie asked as she opened her front door.

“Hey, Julie.”

“Is everything alright?” Worry had entered her voice and she backed up to let Reggie inside.

“Everything’s fine. I just didn’t want to be at my house.”

She nodded, understanding exactly what he meant. Leading him back to her room, the two settled onto Julie’s bed and she put on a cd to fill up the atmosphere. Reggie let the music swallow him as he watched Julie grab some nail polish from beside her bed.

Uncapping the base coat, Julie looked up at Reggie. “Are you nervous about the marathon?”

Letting out a deep breath, Reggie shrugged. “Yeah, kinda.”

“Reg, come on.”

“What if it doesn’t go well?” The question spilled out of him in a tumble of words.

“The marathon or…?” she let the unfinished question hang in the air, applying the base coat as she waited for Reggie’s answer.

“The marathon!” Reggie said, his face growing red.

“Right,” Julie replied, sounding unconvinced.

He fell over on her bed, his head landing on one of her pillows. Letting the pillow block out the light, Reggie tried to shut off his thoughts and quash his worries. It didn’t last long, and he pushed himself back up to face Julie. She was already working on her second coat of polish, but she paused to give her attention to Reggie.

“So, if I was nervous about more than just the marathon… what should I do?” he left the question vague, scared to utter his feelings aloud.

“We both know I’m not the person to give you advice on stuff like this.”

“Julie.”

She smiled softly at him, finishing with her nails. Thinking for a moment, Julie let her nails dry a little. She reached forward and Reggie gave her one of his hands. “I think… I think that you pushed me when it came to Flynn. And maybe you need to push yourself. Because, honestly Reg, I don’t know how long it would’ve taken me if I hadn’t had you and Alex backing me up.”

“It’s hard.”

“I know it is, but,” her smile took on a playful appearance as she finished speaking. “I’ve seen the way you two are. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

Reggie stared down at his hands as Julie applied a sleek black coat of nail polish. He couldn’t make himself meet her eyes, a strong blush covering his cheeks. He felt the urge to deny Julie’s comment, but he knew she’d only double-down on it. And part of him wanted to live in the idea that Luke liked him. Just for a moment.

“Hey.”

Finally, Reggie looked up at Julie. She let go of his hand, patting his arm lightly.

“You’re gonna do great tomorrow. And I’ll be there the entire time.”

He dipped his head, smiling softly. “It means a lot that you’ll be there.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Julie pulled him in for a hug, the two of them being careful about their still tacky nail polish. He stayed a bit longer, but eventually Reggie had to leave. Staying up all night with Julie wouldn’t be the most productive way to prepare himself for what was to come. He needed rest.

-

About an hour after Reggie got back to his house, he heard a light tapping. He got up and began to search for the source of the sound once it got too persistent to ignore. Stopping at his window, Reggie held his breath to make sure he wasn’t mistaking where the noise was coming from. Opening the curtains, he was faced with the culprit of the tapping. Luke. And some pebbles.

When Luke realized Reggie was staring out at him, he waved and gestured for him to come outside. There was a small voice inside him saying that he should just stay in. But it was drowned out by every other part of him.

Reggie moved quietly through his house and made his way out to Luke.

“What are you doing here?”

“I need your science notes.” Luke shrugged, a smile tugging at his lips even as he tried to force it away.

“Really?” Reggie asked, incredulous.

“No,” he pulled something out of his jacket’s pocket. “I wanted to give you this.”

Reggie took the object from Luke and saw that it was a collar with a pattern of small plates of spaghetti. His eyebrows knit themselves together and he looked back at Luke. “What is this?”

“It’s a collar. For Duke.”

Warmth spread through his chest and he ran his fingers over the light ribbing of the collar. Julie’s words echoed in his head, but he pushed them away.

“I haven’t even run the marathon yet.” Reggie said, a gentle laugh bubbling out.

“Yeah, but you’ve got this.”

Reggie basked in the glow of Luke. He shrugged, containing the odd sense of pride he felt from Luke’s encouragement. It was different than Julie. She was his friend and because of that simple fact, she had eternal faith in him and his abilities. But Luke knew about running. Luke knew what it took to win a race.

“Maybe I do.”

Moments away from saying something else, Luke stopped himself. One of the lights in Reggie’s house had turned on. The two of them stood, frozen, as they stared over at the light, wishing to stay hidden in the night. A shadow passed inside the house and then the room went dark again.

“I have to go,” Reggie said, his nerves returning in an instant.

Luke nodded. “Good luck.”

“Night Luke.” He forced himself to say it, not wanting to leave. If Reggie had had the choice, he would’ve stayed outside with Luke and shown him which constellations were which. He would’ve told him about the stars that kept him company each night. About the stars that made him think of Luke. But he knew that if he risked it, he’d get caught. So, he couldn’t risk it.

“Night.”

And with the collar still in his hand, Reggie hurried back to his house and quietly crept to his bedroom. The darkness in his room consumed him and he flopped onto his bed. It wasn’t long until sleep claimed him, falling over him like a blanketing fog, his mind still stuck on spaghetti and starlight.

-

The marathon was on him when morning came.

Standing near on the sidelines, Reggie took in the other new runners. The sign at the front didn’t say as much, but he knew they were all amateurs. It had been the only way he’d felt comfortable entering. Because even though he was good for the amount of time he’d had to train, he knew it wasn’t enough to go against people who had been training far longer. People who had given their all to marathons before and who would give their all to marathons after. So, he was grateful for the assortment around him. All about his age. All just as worried as he was.

He couldn’t see his dad or any of his friends from where he was placed, because the crowd around the finish line had already gotten too thick. But through the sea of people, Reggie spotted a familiar face.

“How are you feeling?” Luke asked once he reached Reggie.

“Terrified,” he replied with a bright smile. “and really excited.”

“That’s the only way to do something like this.”

Runners started getting into place and Reggie knew he had to join them. “Thank you for… being here.”

“Well, yeah. I had to see you crush the competition.”

Backing up slightly, Reggie gave Luke a double thumbs-up. “Here’s hoping.”

They parted fully and he joined the anxious runners, stretching a little more before the marathon actually began. And though he hadn’t planned it, a silent pact formed in Reggie’s mind. If he won, he would tell Luke how he felt.

And the marathon commenced.

Pacing himself, Reggie could feel time slow. He was moving regularly, but everything around him was going at half-speed. His feet hit the ground, sending shockwaves up his legs and still, time seemed stuck in quicksand. But Reggie rolled with it. He didn’t have a choice in the matter. Whatever his mind was doing, he had to take it in stride.

Focusing on his breaths, he pushed through time. By the first water station, time and space caught up to him as he saw an illustrated star tacked to the sign denoting where they could stop. Everything slammed back into place and life was suddenly fast again. It felt good. It felt right.

Touching the star absentmindedly as he downed his cup of water, Reggie noticed the writing in the bottom corner: ‘Keep chasing the stars, spaghetti.’ He pulled the drawing from the sign when no one was paying attention, tucking it into one of his pockets.

Heart hammering in his chest, Reggie got back into place. He ran slower as he returned to the marathon, only picking his pace back up when his pulse had found its way back to an average rate. Normal again, it didn’t take him long to catch up with the people that had passed him. The marked path was a roadmap to victory. The other runners, friendly competition.

And when he was halfway through the course, Reggie had collected seven stars. Two people remained in front of him. But he was keeping a steady pace and he didn’t feel tired. In fact, he felt exhilarated.

Reggie understood Luke clearer when he was running. Though, he was almost certain he understood everything better when he was running. It was escape. And Luke was the kind of guy that craved freedom. Reggie knew what that was like. He knew what it felt like to lap at the heels of being alone without being lonely. And he knew how easy it was to want more. So, he kept going. He chased after freedom and escape. He chased after stars.

By the time Reggie had fourteen stars, there was only one person ahead of him. He could see the final water station and he could see the final runner. The end was near. Duke was closer than he’d ever been before. Tangible. Real.

Calming himself, Reggie didn’t stop for the final star. He would get it after. He just had to cross the finish line first.

Neck-in-neck with his competition, the two pushed themselves. They took turns pulling ahead, the marker to the end of the marathon coming into view. It was now or never. It was do or die. So, Reggie chose now. He chose do.

Hurtling himself forward, he landed on the other side of the finish. His legs felt like jelly beneath him and if he closed his eyes, he would swear he was still moving. But he was done. He had completed the marathon. Better yet, he had come in first place. He had taken his father’s stipulation and he had bested it.

Luke was the first person he saw break through the crowd.

“You did it! Holy shit, Reggie! You did it!” His lopsided grin was multiplied by ten as he gripped Reggie by the shoulders.

God. Reggie liked him so much. He liked his floppy hair. And the way his eyes were always so bright. And everything about him. He was too much to look at sometimes. In the best possible way. Like staring at the neon lights for too long but being unable to look away all the same. He had to tell him. He couldn’t keep it inside anymore.

“Luke, I-”

But his words disappeared as Luke pulled Reggie to him in a kiss. They stood, in the middle of the runners and spectators, oblivious to it all.

It took a moment for the reality of the situation to catch up to Reggie and when it did, it still didn’t feel real. And just as he started to make some sense of the fact that Luke Patterson was kissing him, it was over. Luke cut the kiss short, pulling away. It was a brief moment. But it felt big. It was big. But when Reggie saw his face, he saw something he’d never seen there before. Panic.

Luke looked like a different person with panic painted across his features. He was Luke reimagined. And Reggie didn’t like it. Because panic was never a good sign.

“I… I sh- I should go…” Luke didn’t wait for a response, just turned and hurried away.

And in an instant, Luke had confirmed all of Reggie’s hopes and fears. It would’ve been bad enough if it had just been his fears. If he had gotten rejected. But the combination was like a punch to the gut. He was a measly court jester that had thought a little too much of himself.

A hand patted him on the back and Reggie pushed his sadness and confusion and hurt into the back of his mind. He could be happy. He could play for a little bit.

Smiling over at whoever it was, he saw his dad.

“You did good out there, kid.” The words sounded genuine. And they stung. The final harpoon in his chest.

He threw his arms around his dad, collapsing into the hug. His father’s arms were firm when he returned the gesture. The hug didn’t last long. It didn’t need to. And when they pulled away, his dad nodded once.

“Why don’t you go celebrate with your friends and tomorrow we can take a trip down to the shelter. Sound alright with you?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks, dad.”

Instead of a proper response, Mr. Peters cleared his throat and gave another quick nod. Then he walked off in the direction of the car.

Finding Julie, Flynn, Alex, and Willie in the slowly dispersing crowd, Reggie let out a deep breath. He felt heavy. Weighed down by… by whatever had happened with Luke.

Willie greeted him with a high-five, “That was sick, dude!”

Alex pulled him into a tight hug in replace of words, patting him on the back. Part of the weight slopped off his shoulders as they hugged. And when Julie followed up Alex’s embrace with one of her own, another piece fell from him. He was only slightly lighter, but it was better than it had been before them.

“Reggie!” Flynn exclaimed. “You just did that! You realize that, right?”

“Yeah, I guess I did.” Some pride returned to him and he smiled over at her, a soft blush coating his cheeks.

As they all talked, Reggie eased. He would worry about Luke, but maybe he could let himself have a little fun first. Enjoy himself in the eye of the storm. Get a reprieve before stepping into the hurricane.

“You wanna get going, Reg?” Alex asked.

“Totally.” The stars filtered into his brain and Reggie paused. “I just have to grab something first.”

Parting from the group, he made his way back to the final water station. Peeling the last star from the sign, Reggie looked for any writing that might have marred its surface. And there, encapsulating the star with words, was Luke’s fifteenth message: ‘I knew you could do it. But I hope you know this means that I’ll be visiting Duke from now on. Not you. Well, maybe you, too. I think I like you too much to ignore you.’

The words clawed at Reggie’s skin and he shoved the star into his pocket with all of the others. He would think about it later. He deserved to have fun with his friends first.

Rejoining the others, Reggie did his best to push Luke from his mind. But a pocketful of stars felt so much heavier than he’d ever expected. And a crush hit just as hard as he’d thought it would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter might be a little late, but i hope u all enjoyed this one ;) have a great day and stay safe !! <3


	14. don't give the galaxy back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> duke comes home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter fourteen !! i officially have the whole thing written up, so chapter fifteen should be up on the fifteenth if all goes right. i hope u've all enjoyed so far and i hope u all enjoy this chapter :)

The sun was seeping into Reggie’s room when his father knocked on the door. He groaned against the noise, not wanting to get up and face the day. His legs ached and his heart was sore. Everything had gone so terribly right and so wonderfully wrong. And Reggie just wanted to remain in his dreams. He wanted a little bit of peace in the storm that had been created from his life.

“Reggie! Are we going to the shelter or not?” His dad’s voice broke through the quiet of his room and suddenly Reggie was up.

Duke.

A thrill surged through him, wiping away all thoughts of the pain in his legs. And all thoughts of Luke. Reggie called back to his dad, “Just give me five minutes!”

There was no reply, no follow-up, but he could hear the sounds of his dad’s footsteps fading down the hall. Pulling on fresh clothes, Reggie rushed to get ready. He didn’t want to wait any longer than he had to to bring Duke home.

Fully dressed, Reggie tucked his phone into his back pocket, pausing when he caught sight of the collar on his desk. He considered leaving it where it was or hiding it away where he didn’t have to see it, but Reggie didn’t have a back-up collar for Duke. So, he grabbed it and left his room to join his dad at the front door.

-

Standing with his dad and one of the volunteers in the entry of the shelter, Reggie was struck again by how loud it was. And how much he didn’t mind it.

Letting the noise wash over him for a moment, Reggie stared down the long hallway and thought about Duke. For the first time since the marathon had ended, he felt a warm fluttering in his chest. He was finally at the end of his wait. And he was just getting to the beginning of what he’d always hoped for.

The three of them walked along the rows of dogs and Reggie started counting down until they got to Duke. He didn’t even need to consciously keep an eye out for him after all the visits he’d made to the shelter. It was second nature. An instinct that something good was right around the corner. And that something good was Duke. A new companion to keep him safe when it got dark. When it got too loud for him to handle.

When they got to him, Duke didn’t bark or race to the gate. He stayed where he was, but his tail began to wag, and he watched their every move.

The volunteer went in first, taking the collar from Reggie, and brought Duke out to greet them.

“Hey, buddy!” Reggie crooned, kneeling to be on Duke’s level. He ran his hands over his fur and grinned. Next to him, he saw that even his dad looked pleased with Duke’s presence.

-

Back at home, Duke settled in right away. He didn’t have any sense of boundaries, leaping onto Reggie’s bed as soon as they arrived, but it didn’t bother Reggie. In that moment, he would’ve given Duke absolutely anything. He loved him. He loved his big, wonderful sloth of a dog. Even though it hadn’t been an hour since he’d gotten him home.

It didn’t take long for a knock to sound at the door.

Reggie raced down to get it, Duke following after him. Throwing the door open, Reggie gestured over at Duke with a giant smile. “Here he is!”

Julie and Flynn wasted no time before fawning over Duke. They let him come to them first, but once he had they showered him with love and attention. He relished in the affection, flopping over onto his back in front of them.

“So, I was thinking we could take him to the park,” Reggie nudged Julie lightly to get her attention. “and you could bring Dahlia along if you wanted?”

“Oh my god! They’re gonna be best friends!” she exclaimed, turning between Flynn and Reggie.

Flynn nodded, not looking away from Duke. But Reggie grinned, gently slapping his thighs in excitement.

Grabbing Duke’s leash, the three of them set off for Julie’s house to pick up Dahlia. Flynn called Alex as they walked, to invite him along.

With the leash wrapped around Reggie’s wrist, he registered just how real the moment was. He had accomplished what he’d been working toward, his efforts bringing him Duke. Something about it felt like going home.

“Reg?” Flynn asked, no longer on the phone.

She watched him, expectantly, clearly having already tried to get his attention more than once. Reggie gave a quick nod to let her know he was listening, and she linked his arm with hers.

“Are you inviting Luke?”

Oh.

All of his thoughts stalled, his excitement plummeting. He hadn’t let himself think about Luke. Hadn’t wanted to. There was too much to consider when it came to him. Too much that he still didn’t know. He shrugged in response, casting his eyes downward. Reggie could feel her looking at him. Could feel the way she was appraising him now that it was obvious something was wrong.

“Did… did something happen?” her voice was softer, pitched down so Julie couldn’t hear from her place in front of them.

“…Yeah,” Reggie replied, the word tugging as it left his mouth.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He glanced over at her and gave a weak smile. “Later?”

“Later.”

Flynn pulled him closer to her, unlinking their arms and wrapping hers around his shoulders instead. The comfort was immediate. It was Flynn. And she always knew how to make things better.

-

Alex and Willie joined them at the park, packing around the bench that Reggie and the girls were already sitting on. In the background, Dahlia and Duke were running around with each other. Instantly they seemed comfortable with one another. Julie was right, it seemed. They were becoming best friends. And it was the first time Reggie had seen Duke actually move faster than half speed.

It was nice being with everyone, but it emphasized the absence of Luke. There was a tender aching in Reggie’s chest as he played the fifth wheel. And the part that hurt the most was the knowledge that if it hadn’t been for Luke, he wouldn’t have felt like the fifth wheel.

But Alex brought him back into the fray, patting his knee. “I got you something. It was supposed to be a present for after the marathon, but then I kind of blanked.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything, dude!”

“I know, but I wanted to.”

“Ok!” Reggie said, eager to see what Alex had for him.

Reaching into his fannypack, Alex found a small wrapped gift. He handed it to Reggie, who immediately tore into the wrapping paper. In mere moments, he was holding a box of glow-in-the-dark stars. Reggie looked up at Alex with a warm, timid smile.

“You got me stars.”

“Yeah, man.”

“Thank you,” he gazed into the box, lightly touching the little plastic stars. They would be his own private galaxy.

Though his mind continued to drift back to the stars that speckled the marathon. The stars that meant Luke had believed in him. The stars he had hidden away in his desk. But they were different, Reggie reminded himself. Because Luke’s stars were dying out. And Alex’s stars never would. He had his friends. He would always have his friends. He had just deluded himself when he thought he would have Luke too.

“Thank you,” Reggie repeated, meeting Alex’s eyes.

Alex smiled, big and unabashed. “Of course.”

-

Heading back to his house, it was just Flynn and Reggie. And Duke.

Flynn walked, turned slightly toward Reggie. “Ok, so, what happened with you and Luke? Why didn’t you invite him to come hang out with us today?”

“He kissed me,” Reggie rushed through the words knowing he wouldn’t be able to say it if he took his time.

Immediately, Flynn’s eyes went wide, confusion and surprise battling for control of her features. “He did WHAT?”

“He kissed me,” Reggie repeated, tacking on. “and then he left… I’m pretty sure he regretted it.”

“I…” She paused, collecting her thoughts. “I’m so sorry, Reggie.”

“Yeah… me too.”

“Do you feel like you can walk me through what happened?”

Reggie nodded and sucked in a sharp breath. He explained the details of the event and how he hadn’t heard from Luke since. How he hadn’t reached out to Luke since. By the time they were back at his house, Flynn was completely caught up. The only thing he left out was the stars. Those were still just his. He liked it better that way. They hurt less that way.

“I can do something. What do you want me to do?” She looked ready for war and though Reggie appreciated it, he knew a war wouldn’t fix anything.

“You’ve already done something. It was nice being able to get it off my chest.”

“Ok,” she gave him a quick, tight hug. “but if you change your mind…”

“I know where to find you.”

Duke tugged lightly at the leash, staring wistfully over at the house. Both of them followed his line of sight and when Reggie looked back over at Flynn, he could tell she already knew what he was about to say.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, eight am sharp,” she said, stopping him before he could say that he needed to get inside. Flynn smiled, patted him on the arm, and then started off.

“Bye Flynn!” Reggie called after her as she walked away.

He pet Duke briefly and then made his way up to his front door. But the sight of something resting on the stoop gave Reggie pause. Bending to pick it up, he ran his fingers over the solar system of the guitar strap Flynn had made him. Something seized inside him. His skin prickled and he chewed lightly on his bottom lip. Because two things had happened. Luke had stopped at his house. And Reggie had missed him.

-

School days came and went, and Reggie’s routine returned to what it had been before Luke. He talked with Julie, Flynn, and Alex at lunch. But now he avoided Luke’s gaze in science. And after school the only difference was that Willie was around more and more.

Five days had passed since the marathon when Reggie saw Luke alone on the track. And he knew it was his chance.

He forced himself to keep moving towards Luke, even as every muscle in his body protested the idea. Pulling the guitar strap out of his bag, Reggie reached the spot where Luke was standing. His mouth went dry and every word that he’d ever learned evaporated from his mind. And just as he lost all concept of speech, Luke turned around.

His ever-present easiness was gone in an instant and he was all rigid lines and uneven frowns. “Reggie?”

As quickly as they’d gone, Reggie’s words returned to him. He pushed the guitar strap into Luke’s hands and started before he could convince himself to just walk away instead. “Next time you want to return something, do it in person. Because finding this at my door was kind of a shitty end to a good day. And… and I don’t know what I did. What even happened? I liked you Luke. I liked you a lot. And it really hurt when you… when you just left.”

The energy that had sustained his rant up to the point dissipated and left Reggie with sadness. He was sapped of all of his anger.

Luke stared back at him, shocked. He still had the guitar strap in his hands, his eyes slightly watery. “I’m… sorry. Honestly. I’m really sorry, Reggie.”

“Then why did you do it?” Reggie’s voice was small. He felt small. And the moment seemed so, unbearably large.

“I got scared. It’s not a good reason. I know there aren’t any good reasons, but it’s the truth. I can give you the truth, at least.”

“You got scared? Scared of what?”

“Scared that I’d ruined everything,” Luke kicked at some loose gravel on the ground. “Because I liked you and I kissed you and I didn’t know if you wanted that. And I’m sorry I left. I’m sorry that I hurt you.”

“I did want that.”

“What?”

Reggie tugged at his necklace and pushed on. “I did want you to kiss me.”

“Oh.”

“I still do.”

“Oh,” Luke repeated.

And when it became clear that Luke was a little too surprised to make a move, Reggie shifted closer. “Can I… Can I kiss you?”

The question seemed to bring Luke back. The Luke that Reggie was so familiar with. A grin spread across Luke’s face and he nodded. Reggie closed the gap between them, drawing Luke into a kiss.

Everything about the moment felt so much more real than the first time they had kissed. They were there, together in a second of their own making, an infinitesimal cosmos of their own design. Luke moved one of his hands up to Reggie’s cheek and even once they had pulled away from one another, his hand remained where it was.

They lingered there, two boys with fully realized feelings for one another. And Luke couldn’t seem to wipe the grin off his face. It sent butterflies spiraling through Reggie. A flutter. A storm. A reciprocation. But after a moment, a different thought pressed in on Reggie. He bounced slightly on the balls of his feet and beamed at Luke, all excited energy. The words jostled for priority in his mouth and it took Reggie a few extra seconds to gather them into a sentence that made sense.

“C’mon, I’ve got someone I want you to see!” Reggie got out once he had ordered his thoughts.

Luke’s grin shifted knowingly, and he offered his hand to Reggie, “Then let’s go!”

The two of them walked from the school’s track, hand-in-hand, as they started in the direction of Reggie’s house. Once again, Duke was waiting. And Reggie had a vague sense of eagerness when he thought about going home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're nearing the end, which is always bittersweet. but i've had a blast writing this and i appreciate all of u reading and engaging with this fic !! have a great day and stay safe <3


	15. one last movie night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last chapter time !! hope u enjoy :)

When Reggie heard the tapping on his window, he immediately knew it was Luke. Carefully shifting out from under Duke’s giant paws, Reggie hurried over to his window to let Luke know he was on his way out of the house. Getting a single thumbs-up in return, he grabbed his things and Duke’s leash. Duke perked up the second he caught sight of the leash hanging from Reggie’s grip and he scrambled up and over as quickly as he could. Though by most dogs’ standards, it was still fairly slow.

With Duke properly leashed, Reggie joined Luke outside. He adjusted his guitar case and took hold of Luke’s hand. As he did, Luke raised their interlocked hands to his mouth and placed a feather-light kiss to the back of Reggie’s. The action sent a shockwave through Reggie and he turned his face away as a blush spread across his cheeks.

Clearing his throat to try and cover how flustered he was, Reggie asked, “Did Julie change the time for practice?”

“Nope,” Luke replied simply, with a small smirk.

“Then… why are you here like an hour early?”

“What? I’m not allowed to want a little extra time with my boyfriend?”

The question shut Reggie’s brain down. Or the word boyfriend did, at least. It had been a couple weeks since they had officially started referring to each other as boyfriends and Reggie hadn’t managed to get used to it. He wasn’t sure he ever would. So, all he mustered was an awkward, “Uh…”

Luke laughed lightly and gave Reggie’s hand a small squeeze. “I was actually thinking we could go get some ice cream?”

“Oh! Sure!” The tangle of nerves unknotted themselves and Reggie found that he was able to smile easily again. Though a tug at the leash in his hand gave him pause. “Wait, what about Duke? I don’t think we’d be able to get him inside an ice cream place.”

Bumping Reggie’s shoulder with his own, Luke swiftly answered, “We can sit outside, dude.”

“Right! Outside! Yes, good!”

Amused by Reggie’s complete lack of words, Luke pulled him forward and the two were off to go get ice cream.

-

Sitting at an outside table, Reggie moved his quickly melting ice cream around the bowl. It was becoming a sugary, cold soup with bright sprinkles, but he didn’t mind much. He was too focused on his company. Luke seemed to have fallen a little out of his element the moment they arrived at the ice cream parlor and Reggie couldn’t figure out why. Not wanting to skirt around the shift, Reggie decided to approach it head-on.

“Is something wrong?” Concern etched a note in his words.

“No, not at all!” Luke replied, putting a hand up in a surrender-like gesture. He gave Reggie a small smile and then pulled something out of his own guitar case. “I just… Well, I wanted to show you this.”

“What is it?” Reggie asked, reading over the title of the pages. “In your starlight?”

“It’s a song. For you.”

Meeting his eyes, Reggie didn’t try to hide his blush. “For me?”

Luke nodded and started playing with his own ice cream, “Yeah, I wrote it for you. And I was thinking we could practice it today at Julie’s. If you want to, of course. I already talked it over with her, but I said that I wanted your input before we actually started on it.”

“That would be great! I would love that!”

“Really?”

“Really!” Reggie considered something. “But why didn’t we just talk about this at my house? Why here? Not that I’m complaining about ice cream, but…”

Fixing him with a look, Luke smiled, “Because I wanted to come here on something like an actual date.”

“What?” Reggie asked, completely lost.

“The first time we came here,” Reggie nodded along as Luke spoke. “I wanted that to be a date.”

“Wait, what? I thought we were just hanging out.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Luke teased casually.

The tips of Reggie’s ears heated up and he smiled shyly back at Luke. He said, quietly, “I wanted it to be a date, too.”

His phone chirped with a text and when Reggie checked it, he saw that it was from Julie. It wasn’t an actual message, just a picture. But the photo of Dahlia was enough to let Reggie know that they could head over to her house.

“Julie’s waiting for us,” Reggie said, getting up from his seat. Duke stood in tandem with them and Reggie made sure he had Luke’s song before they started walking again.

-

Low notes of conversation drifted out of Julie’s studio as they arrived. Through it all, a bark cut the noise. And as soon as it had sounded, the studio door flew open with Julie and Dahlia standing behind it. Dahlia’s tail wagged as she caught sight of Duke and the two promptly ran off to play.

“Reggie!” Julie exclaimed and pulled him into a quick hug. When their hug finished, she turned to Luke and hugged him as well. “And Luke!”

The two replied at the same time with a simple, “Hey Julie!”

“Jinx!” Reggie called out before Luke had a chance to react.

Luke sighed, but when Reggie looked at him, he saw a smirk on his lips. Reggie scrunched up his face and shook it slightly at him, causing Luke to let out a small laugh.

Watching the exchange, amused, Julie finally decided to just grab their arms and pull them into the studio. She let go once they were inside and took her spot next to Flynn on the couch. “Is it ok if we wait a little before practice?” Julie gestured at the portable tv sitting across from the couch. The screen displayed a paused movie, but Reggie could make out a familiar face in the scene. It was easy to recognize Keanu Reeves, especially in a movie that he’d sat through countless times before. “Willie brought over the first Bill and Ted because someone mentioned how much he likes the movies…”

Alex smiled sheepishly at the comment, waving over at Luke and Reggie, “Hey, guys.”

Reggie waved back and crammed himself onto the arm of the couch, grinning, “I’m always down for an impromptu movie night!”

Making a seat for himself on the couch, Luke glanced around at all of them briefly before settling his gaze on the tv screen. He smiled lightly and said, “I’ve never actually seen any of these movies.”

Five pairs of eyes turned to him in varying degrees of sincere and mock surprise.

“Really? Not even one?” Alex asked, incredulous.

Luke shook his head and shrugged as he met his gaze.

Flynn reached out and swatted at Reggie’s arm, her eyes sparkling. “You didn’t tell me your boyfriend was so uncultured, Reginald!”

“Hey! I didn’t know!” he replied, hands up in faux surrender.

Leaning forward, Luke grinned over at Reggie, “Are you rethinking dating me?”

“Hmm…” Reggie stroked his chin and then broke out in a smile, unable to keep the joke going. “You’re safe this time. But only because I like you too much.”

Julie and Flynn erupted in gagging sounds which were closely followed by a fit of giggles.

“Put the movie back on before these two make me ill!” Flynn shouted.

Alex added, “Start it over! Luke has to see this cinematic masterpiece from the beginning.”

The six of them settled in to watch the movie, picking it up from the start. Alex and Willie traded off quoting different lines while Flynn and Julie heckled them. At the halfway point, Duke and Dahlia settled on the ground by their feet, tired out from playing. When the movie ended, Alex seemed exceptionally pleased that Luke had enjoyed it as much as he did.

Reggie didn’t waste another second getting them all up to practice. He was eager to hear his song. Practice moved smoothly into the sunset and as they played, Reggie could hardly believe he was listening to a song that Luke had written for him. It made him feel special.

As soon as practice had finished and they’d put all of their instruments away, the six of them sat around the studio. Reggie and Alex tossed a small, beaded ball back and forth between each other, occasionally throwing the ball to one of the dogs. Flynn and Julie sat, curled into one another, on the couch. And Luke and Willie had taken up space on two nearby chairs.

“Could we make practice more frequent for the next month?” Luke asked.

Julie looked at him, her brows pulled together. “Why? I mean… we definitely can, but any reason?”

“Well…” Luke grinned and looked away.

The movement caught all of their attention and Reggie shuffled over to Luke. “Well what?”

“I maybe got us a gig at a local club.”

“WHAT?” Julie asked, the first to register what he had said.

He nodded once and they all started chattering excitedly, eager to discuss their first gig as a band. But amidst it all Reggie was seized by one thought.

They were making their own stories. And they were going to be great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u so much to everyone who read this !! i appreciate it so much and i hope u all liked this fic as much as i liked writing it !! have a great day and stay safe <3


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